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Preventing ROP in Eastern Europe
by Dr. Alan Richards

Half of the children without sight in Russia and Eastern Europe are blind because of Retinopathy of Prematurity – a treatable condition. At Eye Samaritans International, we advocate for ROP treatment in nine Eastern European countries by educating ophthalmologists, neonatologists and nurses on how they can change the staggering statistics of blindness in children (1.5 million blind due to ROP)…CLICK HERE TO FINISH READING…

Eye Samaritans International
link to IAPB Membership Directory

Romania’s first ROP workshop
by Robin Percy

I am just back from Bucharest where IAPB supported the first national Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) symposium. This is part of the IAPB ROP programme for Russia and Eastern Europe which is funded by Eye Samaritans International, our newest IAPB member.

IAPB had been asked by the host, Dr Cristina Nitulescu to support her to raise awareness of ROP across the Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs)  in Romania, particularly to look at recent research findings and the implications for how pre-term babies are cared for, when they are screened and what treatments to give…CLICK HERE TO FINISH READING…

Retinopathy of Prematurity
With inputs from Prof Clare Gilbert, ICEH

Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a potentially avoidable cause of irreversible, and usually total blindness in infants who are born premature. It is a major cause of blindness in children in middle-income countries and south-east Asia and has lifelong implications for the child and their family….CLICK HERE TO FINISH READING…

Working to tackle ROP in Eastern Europe
by Shad Husain, Neonatologist

Preterm babies are at risk of developing an eye condition called retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). If left undetected and untreated, the severest forms of ROP can cause blindness from infancy. This devastating outcome can be prevented by establishing ROP programmes that minimise the risk of severe ROP and ensure that all babies at risk are screened and treated if required…CLICK HERE TO FINISH READING…

Learning to improve treatment of ROP in Russia
by Dr. Makarov Vsevolod Sergeevich

I am an anesthesiologist working in the delivery room and the NICU at the Sverdlovsk Regional Children’s Hospital in Yekaterinburg, Russia. One of my roles is to arrange the transport of infants to the Level 3 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) from within Yekaterinburg and from the provinces around. Once in the Level 3 NICU we can arrange for these infants to be screened for Retinopathy Of Prematurity (ROP) and treated where necessary. To prevent ROP screening and treatment needs to be done as soon as the infant has been identified as being at risk and is stabilised.

The challenges we face in Russia are several. The first being time; infants are not transported quickly enough from the regional hospital to our unit. This relates to the large distances between the regional hospitals and our tertiary NICU…CLICK HERE TO FINISH READING…

Today is World Prematurity Day : VISION 2020 Workshops and ROP
by Robin Percy
VISION 2020 Workshop Programme Manager
Organisation: ICEH

IAPB has been able to support Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) programmes in Russia and Eastern Europe, with support from the Eye Samaritans International. Alan Richards, the Founder of Eye Samaritans International, is committed to preventing blindness from ROP in these countries and his energy, dynamism, infectious enthusiasm and ability to rally supporters have made it possible to deliver this ROP programme. As Clare and Shad mention in their blog posts, ROP is an important cause of blindness in middle-income countries. The countries we work in – parts of Russia and Eastern Europe–have challenges to overcome in order to reduce the risk of babies going blind through improved neonatal care, effective screening and treatment programmes…CLICK HERE TO FINISH READING…