At a recent press briefing in Port Moresby, Dr Harsha Baranage, Secretary of the Sri Lanka PNG Friendship Foundation, offered a rare behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to restore eyesight to a blind patient—and why this type of surgery is one of the most complex in modern medicine.
Corneas, the transparent outer layer of the eye, must be harvested from donors in Sri Lanka within four hours of death, then preserved using special storage fluids and chemicals, and kept at low temperatures—ideally −80°C—before being flown into Papua New Guinea.
“The eye must arrive viable, intact, and matched to a recipient already screened,” Dr Baranage explained.
“That requires military-level timing and trust across every checkpoint.”
Once the eye reaches PNG, surgical teams at the Centre for Eye Health step in. The transplant, done under general anesthesia, requires both precision and post-operative monitoring. The outcome? A patient who may have lived in darkness for years walks away with vision—and dignity.
“Our greatest reward is seeing that first moment a patient realizes they can see again,” said Dr Baranage.
“It is an emotional, life-affirming experience.”
In addition to transplants, the Foundation has supported cataract surgeries and rural outreach clinics, making medical care accessible in hard-to-reach areas.