As an eye bank, Saving Sight is an integral part in the journey of the cornea, recovering donor tissue to honor the gift of sight, processing and evaluating the tissue in our laboratory, and then distributing the tissue to corneal surgeons for transplant. During the 2017-2018 fiscal year, Saving Sight provided corneal tissue to 2,957 transplant recipients locally and throughout the world thanks to the selfless gift of sight from 2,480 eye donors and their families.
Our Sister Vicki – Eye Donor Story
Vicki was a loving and caring person who always wished to help others. She loved the outdoors, decorating and design, and reading in her Bible. Most of all, she loved her family and was a proud mother of 3 children, grandmother to 13 and great-grandmother to 9.For the past ten years, Vicki had been in ill health and, while under hospice care, she made her wishes known she would like to donate her corneas. “As Vicki’s sister, I lost my sight in my right eye after cataract surgery so we hope that Vicki’s gift will help someone else see,” says Cricket, whose given name is Barbara but her little sister Vicki always lovingly called her Cricket. Vicki and Cricket had discussed organ donation, but knew with her health she’d likely be an eye and tissue donor. (Click here to read her full story)
Regaining Sight After 23 Years – Cornea Transplant Recipient
For 23 years, Angela was 100 percent blind in her right eye. Thanks to the generous gift of sight from an eye donor and the work of her surgeons, she has regained her sight! When Angela went in for what was a routine eye exam to get new contacts in 2017, her eye doctor expressed concerns about her right eye (which she had been blind in for as long as she can remember) and thought she might have Keratoconus. Her doctor referred her to see an ophthalmologist at MU Health Care. “The following week, when I met my would-be surgeons, they confirmed I had severe Keratoconus, explained what it was, what my options were, and what it would mean if I opted not to do the surgery,” says Angela. “After going over all the pros and cons with my family and the risks (which were incredibly minimal due to my current condition), I scheduled my surgery the following month.” The Power of Donation “Words could never adequately describe how thankful I am,” says Angela of her eye donor. “It did so much for me, much more than what any of my doctors or I believed could happen. It really can change someone’s life in an incredibly positive way.” Angela has been a registered organ, eye and tissue donor since she was 14-years-old and it’s a cause that is near to her heart. “Now, being on the other side of it, it has given me a deeper affection for donation.” (Click here to read her full story)
Our Saving Sight team is excited to be back at the annual European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS) Congress September 22-26, 2018. We’d love the opportunity to connect with ophthalmologists, surgeons and other eye care professionals while there. Patrick Gore, Chief Business Development Officer at Saving Sight, will be at ESCRS and looks forward to hearing how Saving Sight can best suit your ocular needs in a simple and convenient way. Please reach out to Patrick Gore soon to coordinate a time to connect at the conference.
We look forward to an enriching conference in Vienna!
For additional information: Patrick Gore, Chief Business Development Officer, 816.255.1337
Min Tae Kim is the recipient of a Fight For Sight Summer Student Fellowship.
Kansas City, Mo. (July 5, 2018) – Nonprofit organizations Fight for Sight and Saving Sight have awarded a $2500 scholarship to Boston University School of Medicine student, Min Tae Kim, for his study of how type 2 diabetes effects corneal wound healing and repair. In his research, Kim will study the role of a channel protein, Pannexin-1, in both normal wound repair and that of diabetic tissue.
“With a better understanding of the wound healing process and its differences in diabetic and non-diabetic individuals, it may become possible for us to develop ways to better monitor these types of health complications and develop therapeutics targeting diabetic corneal dysfunction,” said Kim.
Kim was awarded the grant through Fight for Sight’s Summer Student Fellowship program, which provides support to undergraduate, graduate or medical students pursuing eye-related clinical or basic research. This particular scholarship was joint-funded by Kansas City area eye bank, Saving Sight.
“Saving Sight is proud to provide ongoing support to the ocular research community,” said Tony Bavuso, Chief Executive Officer at Saving Sight. “It’s exciting to contribute to the success of the next generation of ocular researchers in hopes of finding new treatments.”
About Saving Sight
Saving Sight is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a mission to change lives by saving sight. Founded in 1960, Saving Sight has grown to become one of the nation’s leading eye banks and is focused on providing innovative solutions to its clinical partners. Headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., Saving Sight facilitates eye donation in Missouri, Kansas, and Illinois, impacting the lives of those both near and far through transplantation. About Fight for Sight
Since 1946, Fight for Sight (FFS) has supported and inspired eye and vision research by funding promising scientists early in their careers. FFS has granted over $21 million in research that has contributed directly or indirectly to major advances in ophthalmology and vision research, including the development of the IOL, aspects of donor cornea preservation, various use of ophthalmic lasers, glaucoma treatment and gene therapy.
Saving Sight is pleased to welcome three new people to its Board of Directors for the 2018-2019 fiscal year (July 1 – June 30). Welcome VCC Pat Scott, IPCC Larry Boettcher, and PDG Roger Tiemann! Board members are key to the organization’s success. They actively participate in long-range planning and monitor the organization’s financial health and overall performance. As highly visible members of their communities, the board members also enhance Saving Sight’s public standing by sharing the mission, accomplishments, and goals with Lions clubs, the general public, and other partner organizations. As Lion board members, these individuals also keep their districts informed about Saving Sight. “Our board members provide crucial oversight that enables us to change more lives by saving sight through their engagement and support,” said Tony Bavuso, chief executive officer.
Saving Sight also expresses its gratitude to three individuals who retired from the board of directors on June 30, 2018. “Thank you to PDG Sandy McCann (served 3 years), PDG Lion John Reese (served 6 years), and Dr. Dan Schoenleber (served 6 years) for your service and the valuable leadership you provided over the past few years,” added Bavuso.
At the June Board of Directors meeting, the board elected its 2018-2019 leadership team.
These board members were elected to leadership roles for the new fiscal year:
President: Lion Pat Martchink, MD-26 M2
Vice President: IPCC Larry Boettcher, MD-26 M4
Treasurer: Lion Mike Oldelehr, MD-26 M7
Secretary: Lion Cassidy Obermark, OD, MD-26 M1
Congratulations to the leadership team. To see the full listing of Saving Sight’s board of directors, visit our Leadership Page.
Join Saving Sight in St. Louis on June 2nd for a comprehensive DMEK wet lab with experienced surgeons. The day will include a full morning of didactics and videos followed by a live demonstration of the procedure and the wet lab. Lecturers will cover the DMEK procedure from start to finish and work with you one-on-one to practice the technique. The final day to register is May 17!
Mark A. Greiner, MD, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine
Dr. Mark Greiner is Associate Medical Director and Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine.
After completing his medical degree and residency in ophthalmology at the University of California at Davis, he completed his fellowship training in Cornea and External Diseases with Mark Terry at Devers Eye Institute in Portland, Oregon. Since joining the faculty at Iowa, Dr. Greiner has pursued his interests in eye banking and endothelial keratoplasty. He currently serves as Associate Medical Director at the Iowa Lions Eye Bank and is a clinician-scientist with a translational research laboratory that focuses on corneal endothelial cell metabolic function and keratoplasty outcomes. Dr. Greiner authored many publications including chapter 131, Surgical Technique of DMEK in the 4th edition of Cornea: Fundamentals, Diagnosis and Management. Read more about Dr. Greiner’s background here.
Shahzad I. Mian, MD, Instructor & Lab Facilitator
Shazad I. Mian, MD, University of Michigan Medical School
Shahzad I. Mian, M.D., is the Terry J. Bergstrom Collegiate Professor for Resident Education in Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences. He also serves the Department as Associate Chair for Education and is an associate professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences the University of Michigan Medical School. Dr. Mian earned his medical degree in 1996 from the Emory University School of Medicine. He then completed a residency at the Wills Eye Hospital of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. From 2000-02, he was a fellow in cornea and refractive surgery at Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. He joined the U-M faculty in 2002 as a clinical lecturer in ophthalmology and visual sciences, and he was promoted to associate professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences in 2010. He has served on the board of directors and as a medical director of the Midwest Eye-Banks and currently serves as cornea editor for the Ophthalmic News and Education Network, board member of the Cornea Society, member of the Program Director’s Council and councillor for the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Read more about Dr. Mian’s background here.
Geoffrey Hill, MD, Lab Facilitator
Geoffrey Hill, MD, Hill Vision Services
Geoffrey Hill, MD is a cornea specialist and partner at Hill Vision Services in St. Louis, Missouri. Dr. Hill received his undergraduate degree in Biology from the University of Missouri Columbia and received his medical doctorate from St. Louis University. He completed his ophthalmology residency at the John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County in Chicago, Il and a fellowship in Cornea and Ocular Surface Disease at the University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas. Dr. Hill is a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons. Read more about Dr. Hill’s background here.
Dr. Roy Chuck, Lynn Forest-Smith and Dr. Gabriel Rand at ARVO 2018
With the rise in diabetes, discussion over the quality of corneal transplant tissue from diabetic donors in US eye banks is of concern. According to new research presented this week at the 2018 Annual Meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology in Honolulu, scientists are one step closer to proving the suitability of the tissue from diabetic donors.
Through the study, a retrospective analysis was conducted to determine if corneas from diabetic donors were more likely to be marked unsuitable for surgical use based upon poor Descemet membrane (DM) or endothelial cell ratings.
This project, led by Gabriel Rand, MD, resident at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, found that the presence of diabetes was not significantly associated with reduced transplant suitability. This study was the first in collaboration with Kansas City-based nonprofit Saving Sight’s donor data and is consistent with previous studies to support the continued preservation of the diabetic donor pool.
“Many cornea transplant surgeons are apprehensive about using grafts from diabetic donors because they believe the tissue to be of poorer quality. We analyzed the Saving Sight database and found that diabetes was not associated with differences in tissue quality across a number of eye bank suitability criteria. The research supports greater transplant utilization of tissue from diabetic donors,” said Dr. Rand.
Saving Sight Chief Business Development Officer Patrick Gore, RN, CEBT, Director of Business Development Lynn Forest-Smith, and Chief Operating Officer Tina Livesay were co-authors on the study. As an eye bank that facilitates eye donation for transplant and research, Gore said Saving Sight is proud to support this project and to work in collaboration with Montefiore and Drs. Rand, Chocron, Hu, Akella and Chuck.
Dr. Gabriel Rand, Patrick Gore, Lynn Forest-Smith and Dr. Roy Chuck at ARVO 2018
“We appreciate partnering with such dynamic collaborators to further ophthalmic research. To paraphrase the great Helen Keller, we believe that working together we can always achieve so much more,” said Gore.
In addition to the diabetes study, the team also presented their findings on mechanical ventilation in eye bank donors and its association with poorer corneal transplant suitability at ARVO 2018.
These studies continue to advance innovation and research in corneal transplantation through collaboration between eye banks, medical centers, and researchers.
“Eye banks have traditionally had the essential role of supplying donor tissues that enable people to see,” said Dr. Rand. “Working with Dr. Chuck and Saving Sight has been an incredible opportunity for me to understand how in addition to this role, eye banks can also advance academic research in the field of ophthalmology.”
Abstracts:
Diabetes mellitus in eye bank donors does not impact corneal transplant suitability
Authors: Gabriel Rand MD, Isaac Chocron MD, Jimmy Hu MD, Patrick Gore RN CEBT, Lynn Forest-Smith CEBT, Tina Livesay CEBT, Roy Chuck MD PhD
Mechanical ventilation in eye bank donors is associated with poorer corneal transplant suitability
Authors: Patrick Gore RN CEBT, Gabriel Rand MD, Isaac Chocron MD, Lynn Forest-Smith CEBT, Tina Livesay CEBT, Sruti Akella MD, Roy Chuck MD PhD
Our Sister Vicki – Eye Donor Story
Our Sister Vicki – Eye Donor Story
Regaining Sight After 23 Years – Cornea Transplant Recipient
