The Eye-Bank for Sight Restoration

The Eye-Banks state-of-the-art ocular laboratory operates 24/7 to recover, evaluate and distribute safe, quality donor eye tissue for cornea transplants and other ophthalmic surgeries. Staff receives continual education and training in the latest technological advances, including preparing partial thickness grafts for endothelial keratoplasty (EK) procedures.

The Eye-Banks Public Education Program offers resources and materials about eye donation to the general public including brochures and a newsletter, eye-to-eye, which is circulated to more than 20,000 transplant recipients, friends and supporters of The Eye-Bank and an effective website that also offers valuable information in Spanish as well as English about eye donation and cornea transplantation; how to write to your donor family; and how to enroll in the NYS Donate Life Registry.

The Eye-Banks Ocular Tissue Research Program supplies donor eye tissue to medical scientists researching cures and treatment of eye diseases such as cataracts, glaucoma and diseases of the retina. The Eye-Bank also provides adult human Retina Pigment Epithelial (ah-RPE) cells to a growing number of researchers across the country who are conducting studies on the potential for transplanting RPE cells in the future. The Eye-Bank distributed 121% more donor tissue to researchers in 2023 (190 tissues) over 2022 (86 tissues). This significant increase is due in part to The Eye-Banks addition of a Research and Relationship Development Manager position as well as our hosting a reception at the 2023 meeting of ARVO (Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology) which enabled us to meet in-person with researchers currently using our donor tissue and cultivate new opportunities for our Research Program to collaborate.