02.03.2018.

The First Eye Bank Opened at the MMA

Investment in the Serbian Armed Forces is an Investment in the Quality of Life of all Citizens

Today, as part of marking the Day of the Military Medical Academy and 174th anniversary of the existence of that establishment, the first Eye Bank was opened at the MMA.

Minister of Defence Aleksandar Vulin pointed out that opening the Eye Bank was a proof of the investments in the Serbian Armed Forces, in the enhancement of the quality of military health care, investment in the quality of life of all the citizens of our country.

- This is a proof that we have reached the highest scientific and research level and that we can share our knowledge with all the citizens of this country. This bank is good news not only for the military insured, but for all others as well. The eye bank is good news for the overall health protection and the entire medicine – said Minister Vulin and added that it was another proof that the investment in the Serbian Armed Forces meant the investment in the quality of life of every citizen of the country.

According to him, the more advanced the Serbian Armed Forces are, the better equipped they are, the better the quality of life will be for every citizen of Serbia.

- The Serbian Armed Forces exist for their citizens, and the military health care is there to protect the health of all the members of the armed forces, their families and the health of civilians as well. Each year, 20,000 surgical interventions are performed at the Military Medical Academy, 30,000 people are hospitalised, and 500,000 different specialist examinations are carried out, and three million diagnostic and laboratory procedures are done – the minister of defence stressed reminding that the top quality of our experts was something that separated us from the others.

Minister Vulin pointed out that sometimes the equipment at the MMA is not the state-of-the-art, but that the quality of the staff of the MMA is certainly something to be proud of.

- This is the reason why the military health care is respected and loved. It is because of the people who know their job, who are great experts and the people who love their job, who know how to help, the people who saved lives in the most difficult times of war regardless of where the injured came from. They were capable of assisting the injured who were not members of our people or our armed forces. They are the people who first of all showed that they were humane, capable and above all highly qualified – stressed Minister Vulin congratulating all the employees the Day of the MMA, sending a message that the establishment is the pride of defence system and the entire country because it had preserved the military health in the difficult times.

Speaking about the significance of the Eye Bank, Colonel Dr Vukosavljević highlighted that its opening was an investment into future, of not only the establishment that he was leading, but of the entire health care of the Republic of Serbia and beyond.

- The Eye Bank is just a beginning of creation of the Bank of Tissue where, apart from eye procedures, other transplantations are going to be performed as well – said Colonel Dr Vukosavljević noting that in the future the MMA could have a Skin Bank, Bone Bank, and amnion membrane and other types of banks.

According to him, the Eye Bank with all the apparatus cost around 13 million dinars, or as much as 15 transplantations of cornea that would be performed abroad, which means that it is а negligibly small amount compared to the possibilities offered by the Eye Bank.

The newly opened Eye Bank will deal with obtaining, storing, quality assessment, processing and distribution of eye parts for their transplantation in patients for whom the transplantation of that tissue is the only chance to see again. The opening of the surgically functional Eye Bank at the MMA will enable clearly controlled and scientifically grounded taking of corneas from cadavers, their preparation, storing, and their transplantation for the purpose of treating, curing and rehabilitation of the function of sight with the patients.

Speaking about preventive free medical examinations that were organised for the Day of the MMA during the entire week, Vukosavljević pointed out that the activity had drawn great number of citizens, and that all the slots were filled within a half an hour. Today, he announced that the MMA planned a similar activity for the Day of the Serbian Armed forces, when some other clinics could open their doors as well to perform free medical examinations of civilian citizens.

Traditionally, at today’s celebration, the best organisational unit in the previous year was proclaimed, and this time it was the Clinic for Cardiology and Urgent Medicine. The Head of the Clinic, Colonel Dr Slobodan Obradović received the plaque for the best clinic of the MMA by Acting Head of MMA Colonel Vukosavljević.

This year’s winners of the medal “Dr Vladan Đorđević” that has been awarded since 2009, are retired Colonel Prof Dr Dragan Ignjatović and Prof Dr Milјko Ristić. The most prolific authors of the magazine “Military Medical Review” are Prof Dr Želјka Tatomirović and Chief Physician of the Medical Science Mirjana Kendrišić while the critic of the year was Colonel Prof Slobodan Obradović.

The celebration was attended by the Chief of General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces General Ljubiša Diković with the members of his Board, ministers in the Government, Serbian Patriarch Irinej, representatives of state institutions, medical and scientific institutions, and numerous friends of that military medical establishment.