At a cost of $5 per lens, the Fred Hollows IOL factory makes about 200,000 lenses every year.

Fred Hollows Foundation
Intraocular Lens Factory

One reason the Himalayan Cataract Project and the Tilganga Eye Centre have been able to keep costs for cataract surgery low is the Fred Hollows Foundation Intraocular Lens Factory in Tilganga (see Fred Hollows Foundation link). Established in 1994, the factory manufactures and supplies low-cost (USD $6 per lens), high-quality lenses to local and regional hospitals, ophthalmologists, and surgeons for use in cataract surgery (see Cataracts). The factory manufactures approximately 200,000 lenses per year. This is enough to support all of the surgeries performed at Tilganga and in eye camps, and some lenses are sold internationally for profit. The lens factory is looking to expand with the Tilganga expansion project.