Eyeworld

42 | EYEWORLD | SPRING 2026 ASCRS NEWS ASCRS ANNUAL MEETING PREVIEW 2026 Chang-Crandall Humanitarian Award Dr. Haripriya noted that Aravind was start- ed by Dr. Govindappa Venkataswamy in 1976 and is celebrating its 50th Golden Jubilee year in 2026. "The founder started the hospital after his tenure at the government hospital," she said. "During his time in public service, he did a lot of camps, so the first person who introduced camps in the country was Dr. Venkataswamy." But it's not just about the surgeries, she said, it's about sharing best practices with the rest of the world. Another arm is manufacturing low-cost, high-quality products in the Aurolab. Dr. Haripriya noted that Aravind has made changes over the years. Around the 1990s, they started to realize that outreach camps were not permanent facilities and could only reach about 8–9% of the patients who needed eye- care. That's when the concept of having a vision center in these small villages manned by two technicians came into place. Every patient who visits the center is also seen by an ophthalmolo- gist through a telemedicine viewing facility. "We find that, through this model, about 90% of the patients are able to receive their eyecare at their site. They need not travel to the large hospitals," she said. "Only 10% are referred if they need a specialty diagnosis, surgery, or other procedure. We have more than 120 vision centers today, and that is a very useful model." Dr. Haripriya added this is also a reason why the number of camps and patients who come through the camps is decreasing. Dr. Venkatesh said that outreach has been an integral part of bringing in patients. The Aravind Eye Care System still does a significant number of camps, especially in very rural areas where accessibility is difficult. "Now, it's all a hospital-based approach where we do screening at the campsite, bus the patients to the base hospital, operate, and [take] them back again to the community, then we go back after a month to follow those patients," he said. International outreach Dr. Venkatesh noted the role of the Lions Ara- vind Institute of Community Ophthalmology (LAICO); focusing on how other hospitals across the developing world can do similar work to continued on page 44 Aravind Haripriya, MD Rengaraj Venkatesh, MD T he ASCRS Foundation Board proudly announces its selection of Aravind Haripriya, MD, and Rengaraj Ven- katesh, MD, for the 2026 Chang-Cran- dall Humanitarian Award. Endowed by a generous gift from David and Victoria Chang, the ASCRS Foundation Chang-Crandall Humanitarian Award was established in 2017 to honor and recognize outstanding humanitar- ian work in the field of cataract blindness and disability. The $100,000 award is donated to the awardee's non-profit organization of choice. Drs. Haripriya and Venkatesh have earmarked the prize for the Aravind Eye Care System. Getting into ophthalmology Both Dr. Haripriya and Dr. Venkatesh have long, accomplished careers in ophthalmology and work within the Aravind Eye Care System. Dr. Haripriya first joined the Aravind system in pediatric ophthalmology, after completing her residency there. "I did like it, and Dr. G. Nat- chiar suggested I join the adult cataract and IOL department." Working at a large-volume hospi- tal, Dr. Haripriya said it has been interesting to look at ways to make things better for patients and to work with a large team. Dr. Venkatesh completed his residency in 1997 and became a consultant/medical officer in the general cataract unit under the guidance and mentor- ship of Dr. Natchiar. He also worked in outreach activities doing high-volume cataract surgery, especially manual small incision cataract surgery (MSICS). Around 2000 when Ara- vind planned an expansion to Pondicherry, Dr. Venkatesh had the opportunity to choose a spe- cialization in addition to cataract, and he chose a 1-year glaucoma fellowship. "I did a fellow- ship in Madurai," he said, "and in 2003, when the new hospital was inaugurated, I moved, and it's been 23 years now in Pondicherry." Charitable surgery and the Aravind model In the Aravind Eye Care System, Dr. Haripriya said, about 60% of the work done is either free (camps) or is steeply subsidized, where the pa- tients pay about $12 for a cataract surgery. The rest (40%) pay for their care.

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