2015 EYE DONATION IMPACT REPORT
Saving Sight is a regional 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a mission to change lives by saving sight. Founded as an eye bank in 1960, today we serve more than 100,000 people worldwide with a range of vision health services. To prevent future vision loss, our KidSight program provides free vision screenings for children, identifying potential vision problems and ensuring children at-risk get the eye care they need. Our Eyeglass Recycling Program collects used eyeglasses, prepares them for recycling, and distributes the eye wear free of charge to help correct refractive errors for those in need. And for those whose sight is threatened by injury, disorder or disease, we continue to coordinate eye donation for transplant and research to restore sight. This report details our work, and the work of our partners, to help 1,796 generous eye donors give the gift of sight in 2015 through research and transplantation. The process starts with a donor or donor family who says yes to donation. Hospital staff and community partners make referrals and assist Saving Sight in the recovery of tissue. Saving Sight processes recovered tissue and distributes it to surgeons and researchers who restore sight through transplant surgeries or the advancement of medical practice. Our recipients couldn’t be more grateful for the selfless gifts they receive to help them see. One corneal surgeon tells his patients, it takes an orchestra to bring them the gift of sight. Whether you are the conductor or a cellist playing first chair, as you will see in the pages that follow, together we change lives by saving sight.
Donor Designation Eye, organ and tissue donation saves and changes lives, but many don’t know just how important donation can be. Saving Sight provides leadership for Donate Life state teams in Missouri, Kansas, and Illinois to help increase designations on our donor registries. Saving Sight staff are also active in communities across our service region, educating the public about donation at community runs and walks, health and wellness fairs and other events. In 2015, Saving Sight hosted donor designation drives at high schools, colleges, blood drives and community events to help more individuals become donors. Staff also provided education on donation to lawmakers, hospital staff and other professionals who have the ability to help facilitate the gift of sight through eye donation.
Eye Donation | Page 2
1,796 Heroes Like Rick Gave the Gift of Sight State Donor Designation Shares
59.9% A Legacy Lives On Rick gave freely of his time to help others and enjoyed spending time with his family. He lived an active lifestyle and was an excellent athlete who continued to play volleyball until he passed away during a match at the age of 61. Because living an active lifestyle was important to Rick, he and his wife Theresa had talked about eye, organ and tissue donation and end-of-lifecare. She and Rick were both blood donors and registered organ donors; they believed in giving what they could to help others.
74.3%
59.7%
The total number of designated donors as a percentage of all state registrants age 18 and older. Join the national donor registry online at registerme.org.
Source of Consent for Saving Sight Eye Donation Cases 59.3% Next of Kin Consent 40.7% First-Person Authorization
When Rick passed away, Theresa said hospital staff, the funeral home and Saving Sight explained the donation process and made the difficult situation as positive as it could be for their family. It was impactful for her that Rick was able to help people until the very end through the gift of sight. “It just helps me as I transition to life without him – it helps me know that I honored a wish of his,” said Theresa.
Saving Sight’s Next of Kin Consent Rate 43.4% 39.05%
38.28%
2013
2014
2015
Next of kin consent rate as a percentage of all approaches made by Saving Sight.
Eye Donation | Page 3
Champion of Donation Dorothy Gideon As a patient education coordinator and head of the Organ, Eye and Tissue Committee at Hays Medical Center, Dorothy Gideon knows the importance of eye, organ and tissue donation. She also knows the impact hospital staff have on the donation process. “Hospital staff play an important role in getting the referral made in a timely manner, taking time to answer the needed questions to screen the potential donor and doing proper eye care,” Dorothy says. “The smoother the facilitation process, the greater the opportunity to help those in need.” Dorothy has been a champion of donation at Hays Medical Center. She’s raised awareness about donation through educational booths at the hospital and in the community. Each April, the committee Dorothy leads celebrates Donate Life Month by baking cookies at the hospital and delivering them to each unit at Hays Medical Center with facts about donation. Dorothy has even helped ensure Saving Sight can get tissue recovered at the hospital to its lab as quickly as possible by connecting Saving Sight to FedEx pickups at Hays Medical Center.
Donation Referral | Page 4
Excellence In Eye Donation Awards Saving Sight’s Excellence in Eye Donation Award recognizes hospitals that demonstrated an outstanding commitment to eye donation. The following hospitals were selected for achieving an eye donation consent rate that exceeded 45 percent and having at least 10 patients donate eye tissue in 2015. We applaud them for empowering people to give the gift of sight and for striving to create a culture that supports donation. Thanks to the staff at these hospitals, more people were able to receive sight-saving cornea transplants last year.
Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital
Mercy Hospital Washington
Boone Hospital Center
Mosaic Life Care
Bothwell Regional Health Center
Olathe Medical Center
Capital Region Medical Center
Ozarks Medical Center
Cox Medical Center Branson
Passavant Area Hospital
Cox Medical Center South
Phelps County Regional Medical Center
Freeman Hospital West
Providence Medical Center
Hays Medical Center
Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center
HSHS St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital
SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital - Jefferson City
HSHS St. John’s Hospital
St. Catherine Hospital
Hutchinson Regional Medical Center
St. Francis Health
Lake Regional Hospital
University Hospital
Lawrence Memorial Hospital
University of Kansas Hospital
Memorial Medical Center
Via Christi Hospital in Manhattan
Mercy Hospital Joplin
Via Christi Hospital in Pittsburg
Mercy Hospital Springfield
Donation Referral | Page 5
Contact a Partner Relations Coordinator
Hospital Referral Partners Hospital Name Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital*
19
13
23
82%
68%
4
Allen County Regional Hospital
11
2
0
42%
18%
1
Anderson County Hospital
0
0
0
0%
0%
1
Ashland Health Center
2
0
0
0%
0%
1
Atchison Hospital
5
3
4
67%
60%
2
Barton County Memorial Hospital
9
2
4
38%
22%
3
Bates County Memorial Hospital
2
0
0
0%
0%
2
Bob Wilson Memorial Grant County Hospital
4
1
2
50%
25%
1
Boone Hospital Center
67
30
38
54%
45%
3
Bothwell Regional Health Center
44
15
19
59%
34%
2
Cameron Regional Medical Center
27
11
19
44%
41%
2
Capital Region Medical Center
42
17
16
60%
40%
3
7
4
4
80%
57%
4
Carlinville Area Hospital*
PRC Territory 1 Heather Britain 620-665-1423 Hutchinson, KS
PRC Territory 2 Justina Barnes, BSN, RN 816-255-1359 Kansas City, MO
PRC Territory 3 Haley Lyne 417-569-1270 Springfield, MO
Carroll County Memorial Hospital
4
1
0
33%
25%
2
Cass Regional Medical Center
18
7
9
62%
39%
2
Cedar County Memorial Hospital
0
0
0
0%
0%
3
Center for Behavioral Medicine
0
0
0
0%
0%
2
Cheyenne County Hospital
4
0
0
0%
0%
1
Citizens Medical Center, Inc.
4
2
2
60%
50%
1
Citizens Memorial Hospital
19
9
13
63%
47%
3
Clara Barton Hospital
5
1
2
20%
20%
1
Clay County Hospital*
7
0
0
25%
0%
4
Clay County Medical Center
6
3
6
60%
50%
1
Cloud County Health Center
5
0
0
0%
0%
1
Coffey County Hospital
8
4
6
50%
50%
1
Coffeyville Regional Medical Center
16
3
3
33%
19%
1
Colmery-O'Neil VA Medical Center
7
3
2
80%
43%
2
Comanche County Hospital
3
2
3
67%
67%
1
Community Hospital Onaga
1
0
0
50%
0%
1
Community Hospital St. Mary's
4
4
2
100%
100%
1
Community Memorial Healthcare
5
1
2
25%
20%
1
Community Memorial Hospital
6
2
4
33%
33%
4
Cooper County Memorial Hospital
9
4
7
63%
44%
2
Cox Medical Center Branson
48
23
22
64%
48%
3
Cox Medical Center South
314
150
143
60%
48%
3
Cox Monett Hospital
9
3
6
45%
33%
3
Crawford Memorial Hospital*
12
2
1
50%
17%
4
Decatur Health Systems
1
0
0
0%
0%
1
Dwight D. Eisenhower VA Medical Center
3
2
2
67%
67%
2
Edwards County Hospital & Healthcare Center
2
1
2
50%
50%
1
Ellett Memorial Hospital
2
0
0
0%
0%
2
Ellinwood District Hospital
2
1
2
50%
50%
1
Ellsworth County Medical Center
4
1
2
25%
25%
1
Excelsior Springs Hospital
9
6
8
88%
67%
2
F.W. Huston Medical Center
0
0
0
0%
0%
2
Fairfax Community Hospital
5
1
2
33%
20%
2
Fayette County Hospital*
8
4
8
50%
50%
4
Fitzgibbon Memorial Hospital
8
2
4
33%
25%
2
Fredonia Regional Hospital
PRC Territory 4 Richard Hamilton 217-718-6002 Springfield, IL Donation Referral | Page 6
Total Suitable Consent Conversion PRC Donors Transplants Eye Donors Rate Rate Territory
4
2
2
50%
50%
1
Freeman Hospital West
170
75
72
53%
44%
3
Freeman Neosho Hospital
18
6
10
33%
33%
3
Fulton Medical Center
2
1
0
75%
50%
3
Fulton State Hospital
0
0
0
0%
0%
3
Geary Community Hospital
12
6
8
54%
50%
1
General Leonard Wood Army Community Hospital
8
1
1
50%
13%
3
Girard Medical Center
1
1
1
100%
100%
1
Golden Valley Memorial Hospital
12
3
6
36%
25%
2
Goodland Regional Medical Center
6
1
0
25%
17%
1
Gove County Medical Center
6
4
4
80%
67%
1
Graham County Hospital
4
2
4
67%
50%
1
Great Bend Regional Hospital
12
7
10
58%
58%
1
* Data reported may differ from actual numbers due to incomplete data.
Hospital Name Greeley County Hospital
Total Suitable Consent Conversion PRC Donors Transplants Eye Donors Rate Rate Territory 2 1 2 100% 50% 1
Greenwood County Hospital
2
1
2
50%
50%
1
Grisell Memorial Hospital
3
1
0
33%
33%
1
Hamilton County Hospital
1
0
0
0%
0%
1
42
10
17
30%
24%
4
Hanover Hospital
1
0
0
0%
0%
1
Harrison County Community Hospital
7
5
7
83%
71%
2
Harry S. Truman Memorial VA Hospital
29
8
10
39%
28%
3
Hays Medical Center
29
12
15
52%
41%
1
Heartland Behavioral Health Services
0
0
0
0%
0%
3
Heartland Long Term Acute Care
7
2
2
60%
29%
2
Hedrick Medical Center
6
3
4
60%
50%
2
Herington Municipal Hospital
3
0
0
0%
0%
1
Hermann Area District Hospital
4
1
0
25%
25%
4
Hiawatha Community Hospital
6
0
0
17%
0%
2
Hillsboro Area Hospital*
6
3
6
57%
50%
4
Hillsboro Community Hospital
2
2
4
100%
100%
1
Hodgeman County Health Center
6
2
4
43%
33%
1
Holton Community Hospital
3
1
2
33%
33%
2
Hannibal Regional Hospital
Horton Community Hospital
1
0
0
0%
0%
2
HSHS St. Anthony's Memorial Hospital*
33
11
12
52%
33%
4
HSHS St. Francis Hospital*
8
1
2
29%
13%
4
HSHS St. John's Hospital*
176
87
105
70%
49%
4
Hutchinson Regional Medical Center
49
22
28
57%
45%
1
I-70 Community Hospital
3
2
4
67%
67%
2
Irwin Army Community Hospital
0
0
0
0%
0%
1
Jewell County Hospital
0
0
0
0%
0%
1
Kansas City VA Medical Center
17
8
10
61%
47%
2
Kearny County Hospital
5
0
0
0%
0%
1
Kiowa County Memorial Hospital
0
0
0
0%
0%
1
Kiowa District Hospital
2
1
2
50%
50%
1
Labette Health
9
5
8
67%
56%
1
Lafayette Regional Health Center
8
1
1
33%
13%
2
Lake Regional Hospital
59
28
41
61%
47%
3
Landmark Hospital of Columbia
9
5
4
56%
56%
3
Landmark Hospital of Joplin
10
3
0
50%
30%
3
Lane County Hospital
2
1
2
50%
50%
1
Larned State Hospital
1
0
0
0%
0%
1
Lawrence County Memorial Hospital*
11
5
8
56%
45%
4
Lawrence Memorial Hospital
49
28
34
65%
57%
2
Lincoln County Hospital
1
1
2
100%
100%
1
Lindsborg Community Hospital
4
4
6
100%
100%
1
Logan County Hospital
5
2
4
40%
40%
1
McPherson Hospital
9
1
2
17%
11%
1
Meade District Hospital
4
2
3
50%
50%
1
Meadowbrook Rehabilitation Hospital
0
0
0
0%
0%
2
Medicine Lodge Memorial Hospital & Physicians Clinic
4
0
0
0%
0%
1
Memorial Health System of Abilene
9
5
8
60%
56%
1
247
132
161
71%
53%
4
Memorial Medical Center* Mercy Hospital Aurora
5
1
0
25%
20%
3
Mercy Hospital Carthage
10
3
2
44%
30%
3
Mercy Hospital Cassville
6
3
4
60%
50%
3
Mercy Hospital Columbus
5
1
2
33%
20%
1
Mercy Hospital Fort Scott
11
4
6
50%
36%
1
Mercy Hospital Jefferson
81
24
25
36%
30%
4
Mercy Hospital Joplin
61
24
24
54%
39%
3
Mercy Hospital Lebanon
4
2
2
50%
50%
3
Mercy Hospital Moundridge
0
0
0
0%
0%
1
306
156
143
62%
51%
3
Mercy Hospital Springfield Mercy Hospital St. Francis
5
3
3
75%
60%
3
Mercy Hospital Washington
70
28
36
52%
40%
4
* Data reported may differ from actual numbers due to incomplete data.
Ways Hospital Staff Can Support Eye Donation
Make the initial referral call to the organ procurement organization within 60 minutes of cardiac death.
Get more than one contact number for the patient’s next of kin.
Donation Referral | Page 7
Hospital Referral Partners Hospital Name Miami County Medical Center
Don’t release the deceased to a funeral home until you’ve heard from Saving Sight.
Once a patient has passed away and their family is no longer at the bedside, perform
SEE:
Saline eye drops in each eye,
Elevate the head to 30 degrees,
Eyelids closed and apply lightweight ice packs over closed eyelids (don’t tape eyelids closed).
Donation Referral | Page 8
Total Suitable Consent Conversion PRC Donors Transplants Eye Donors Rate Rate Territory 9 3 6 38% 38% 2
Mid America Rehabilitation Hospital
0
0
0
0%
0%
Minneola District Hospital
3
1
2
33%
33%
2 1
Missouri Rehabilitation Center
0
0
0
0%
0%
3
Mitchell County Hospital Health Systems
6
1
2
22%
17%
1
Moberly Regional Medical Center
7
4
8
57%
57%
2
Morris County Hospital
8
0
0
0%
0%
1
Morton County Hospital
4
1
2
33%
25%
1
Mosaic Life Care
111
45
69
49%
41%
2
MU Women's and Children's Hospital
7
2
2
29%
29%
3
Nemaha Valley Community Hospital
2
1
1
50%
50%
1
Neosho Memorial Regional Medical Center
8
1
2
17%
13%
1
Ness County Hospital
1
1
1
100%
100%
1
Nevada Regional Medical Center
8
4
8
78%
50%
3
Newman Regional Health
12
8
10
67%
67%
1
Newton Medical Center
11
8
13
77%
73%
1
Northeast Regional Medical Center
15
5
9
46%
33%
2
Northwest Medical Center
3
2
4
75%
67%
2
Norton County Hospital
3
2
4
67%
67%
1
Olathe Medical Center
67
30
43
52%
45%
2
Osawatomie State Hospital
0
0
0
0%
0%
2
Osborne County Memorial Hospital
1
1
2
100%
100%
1
Ottawa County Health Center
3
2
4
67%
67%
1
Ozarks Community Hospital
0
0
0
0%
0%
3
Ozarks Medical Center
36
13
18
48%
36%
3
Pana Community Hospital*
6
0
0
25%
0%
4
Paris Community Hospital*
6
2
4
50%
33%
4
Passavant Area Hospital*
32
14
22
57%
44%
4
Pawnee Valley Community Hospital
0
0
0
0%
0%
1
Pershing Memorial Hospital
11
1
1
10%
9%
2
Phelps County Regional Medical Center
41
19
18
69%
46%
3
Phillips County Hospital
5
2
2
50%
40%
1
Pike County Memorial Hospital
11
4
4
56%
36%
4
Prairie View Hospital
0
0
0
0%
0%
1
Promise Hospital of Overland Park
3
3
3
100%
100%
2
Providence Medical Center
63
31
38
57%
49%
2
Putnam County Memorial Hospital
6
2
3
33%
33%
2
Ransom Memorial Hospital
12
8
9
67%
67%
2
Rawlins County Health Center
2
1
2
50%
50%
1
Ray County Memorial Hospital
6
1
0
40%
17%
2
Republic County Hospital
8
3
2
43%
38%
1
Rice County District Hospital
7
4
4
67%
57%
1
Richland Memorial Hospital*
11
2
0
29%
18%
4
Rooks County Health Center
2
0
0
0%
0%
1
Rush County Memorial Hospital
0
0
0
0%
0%
1
Russell Regional Hospital
3
2
4
100%
67%
1
Sabetha Community Hospital
3
2
1
67%
67%
2
Saint John Hospital
8
5
7
63%
63%
2
Salem Memorial District Hospital
9
2
4
40%
22%
3
Salina Surgical Hospital
0
0
0
0%
0%
1
Samaritan Memorial Hospital
7
0
0
0%
0%
2 4
Sarah Bush Lincoln Health System*
48
24
38
60%
50%
Satanta District Hospital
1
0
0
0%
0%
1
Scotland County Hospital
11
2
4
33%
18%
4
Scott County Hospital
5
0
0
20%
0%
1
Sedan City Hospital
5
2
2
40%
40%
1
Select Specialty Hospital - Springfield
9
6
0
78%
67%
3
Select Specialty, Kansas City, KS
3
0
0
0%
0%
2
Shelby Memorial Hospital*
7
2
4
57%
29%
4
Sheridan County Health Complex
2
2
3
100%
100%
1
Signature Psychiatric Hospital
0
0
0
0%
0%
2
* Data reported may differ from actual numbers due to incomplete data.
Hospital Name Smith County Memorial Hospital
Total Suitable Consent Conversion PRC Donors Transplants Eye Donors Rate Rate Territory 8 1 2 13% 13% 1
Southwest Medical Center
9
3
5
71%
33%
1
SSM Health St. Francis Hospital - Maryville
8
3
4
38%
38%
2
SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital - Centralia
34
11
15
43%
32%
4
SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital - Jefferson City
31
12
16
58%
39%
3
St. Catherine Hospital
26
11
11
52%
42%
1
St. Francis Health Center
53
31
29
67%
58%
2
St. Luke Hospital and Living Center
6
0
0
0%
0%
1
St. Lukes Cushing Hospital
10
6
7
73%
60%
2
Stafford County Hospital
2
1
2
50%
50%
1
Stanton County Hospital
0
0
0
0%
0%
1
Ste. Genevieve County Memorial Hospital
11
4
4
50%
36%
4
Stevens County Hospital
3
0
0
0%
0%
1
Sullivan County Memorial Hospital
0
0
0
0%
0%
2
Summit Surgical Hospital
0
0
0
0%
0%
1
Susan B. Allen Memorial Hospital
6
1
2
20%
17%
1
Taylorville Memorial Hospital*
11
2
2
43%
18%
4
Texas County Memorial Hospital
20
5
1
53%
25%
3
6
2
2
40%
33%
4
Thomas H. Boyd Memorial Hospital* Trego County-Lemke Memorial Hospital
5
0
0
0%
0%
1
University Hospital
207
85
75
55%
41%
3
University of Kansas Hospital
180
101
119
65%
56%
2
Via Christi Hospital in Manhattan
26
15
17
68%
58%
1
Via Christi Hospital in Pittsburg
30
16
19
62%
53%
1
Vibra Hospital of Springfield*
5
1
2
40%
20%
4
Wamego City Hospital
3
3
4
100%
100%
1
Washington County Hospital
2
1
2
50%
50%
1
Washington County Memorial Hospital
21
5
10
40%
24%
4
Western Missouri Medical Center
10
3
6
38%
30%
2
Western Plains Medical Complex
19
7
9
47%
37%
1
Wichita County Health Center
1
1
2
100%
100%
1
Wilson Medical Center
4
1
2
50%
25%
1
Wright Memorial Hospital
10
2
4
29%
20%
2
Timing is critical, but Saving Sight recognizes the need for time and space. Communicate with us about how the family is currently coping. Call Saving Sight staff at 800-7532265 if you have questions at any time about where a case is in the donation process.
* Data reported may differ from actual numbers due to incomplete data.
Community Referral Partners Referral Location
Donors
Surgical Tissues
PRC Territory
Bates County, Missouri Coroner
1
2
2
Cedar County, Missouri Coroner
1
2
3
Christian County, Missouri Coroner
1
2
4
Cremation Society of Kansas and Missouri
1
2
2
Crossroads Hospice KS
1
2
2
Davis - Anderson Funeral Homes - Carlinville
1
2
4
Frontier Forensics
48
84
2
Greene County, Missouri Medical Examiner
1
2
3
Harbor Light Hospice
1
2
4
Harrison County Hospice
1
2
2
Harry Hynes Memorial Hospice
2
3
1
Hedges - Scott Funeral Homes - Camdenton
1
2
3
Compassus - Springfield
1
2
3
Hospice Services, Inc. & Palliative Care of Northwest Kansas
1
2
1
Kansas City Hospice & Palliative Care
2
2
2
Klingner - Cope Family Funeral Homes - Eastlawn
1
2
3
Midland Care Connection
1
2
2
Phelps Regional Homecare
1
2
3
Promise Skilled Nursing Facility of Overland Park
1
2
2
Shawnee County, Kansas Coroner
5
10
3
Shelbyville Manor
1
2
4
Simmons - Rentschler Mortuary
1
2
1
Wyandotte County, Missouri Coroner
1
2
2
Set up a professional development session or request badge cards to help your staff facilitate donation by contacting your Saving Sight partner relations coordinator.
Donation Referral | Page 9
DMEK Processing Enhances Stewardship In 2014, Saving Sight invested in lab equipment upgrades and staff development to begin processing tissue for Descemet’s membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK). The procedure is anticipated to become common practice for corneal transplant surgeries in the future due to the improved visual results and recovery times the procedure provides many patients. Saving Sight provided corneal tissue processed for DMEK for the first full year in 2015, helping more donors give and more patients receive the gift of sight.
99% of Surgically Suitable Tissue Transplanted
Stewardship of the Gift | Page 10
Director of Partner Relations Appointed to State Board Director of Partner Relations Michala Stoker, BSN, RN, was appointed to Missouri’s Organ Donation Advisory Committee by Governor Jay Nixon. The state-wide committee assists state agencies in developing programs to raise awareness of organ, eye and tissue donation among the public and recommends priorities for expenditures from the state’s Organ Donor Fund. As director of partner relations, Stoker has collaborated with hospitals, medical examiners and coroners, funeral home directors and organ procurement organizations across Saving Sight’s service region to help donors give the gift of sight. She currently serves as the state team leader of Donate Life – Missouri where she works with partner organizations throughout the state to educate the public about donation and increase donor designations on the organ, eye and tissue donor registry.
Chief Business Development Officer Coauthors Research Study Research co-authored by Chief Business Development Officer Patrick Gore suggests Saving Sight and other eye banks could use information available in donor medical records to identify tissue which may be better suited for research than transplantation. The study of 12,703 cornea donors presented at the Cornea Society and Eye Bank Association of America’s Fall Educational Symposium found use of certain topical glaucoma medications was associated with lower corneal endothelial cell density of donors. Cell density is an important factor in determining the best use of donated eye tissue.
Gabriel Rand (left) and Patrick Gore (right) at the Cornea Society and Eye Bank Association of America’s Fall Educational Symposium.
By using this information to evaluate potential eye donor cases, Saving Sight and other eye banks could focus on recovering tissue for transplant which provide the best chance for successful outcomes. Other tissue could be recovered specifically for research purposes to help save sight through advances in medical practice.
Stewardship of the Gift | Page 11
Changing Lives Abroad Saving Sight distributes eye tissue for transplant in the U.S. and around the world. Andrew Moyes, MD, of Kansas City, Missouri performs surgeries with tissue provided by Saving Sight here at home and abroad. Since 2006, he’s made 15 trips to Haiti as part of the iTeam at Northwest Haiti Christian Mission. The iTeam provides eye care in the poorest zone in Haiti where the population of approximately 300,000 has no access to eye doctors. That care included three corneal transplants performed by Dr. Moyes in 2015, which can be lifesaving for recipients in the country. “Blindness is lethal in Haiti. If you’re blind in a developing country, the 5-year mortality rate is close to 60 percent,” Dr. Moyes said. “People come to our eye clinic for our services from all over Haiti and even from the Dominican Republic.” In part with tissue provided by Saving Sight, Dr. Moyes and the iTeam are working to prevent blindness in Haiti. “The eye bank has been super helpful,” Dr. Moyes said. “We couldn’t even dream of doing it without Saving Sight.”
Tissue Utilization
Transplant Tissue Distribution by Surgery Type 1,518 PK
67% Surgical Use 33% Non-Surgical Use
1,152 DSAEK 237 DMEK 129 Glaucoma Shunt 96 Other (DALK, ALK, K-Pro)
Donated Tissue Advances Medical Research Eye donors give the gift of sight through cornea transplants, but also have the opportunity to change the lives of those affected by eye conditions by providing tissue for research and education. By age 80, half of all Americans will be affected by cataracts. With lens tissue provided by Saving Sight, researchers at the University of Colorado are studying the various mechanisms involved in cataract genesis and researchers at Washington University in St. Louis are testing compounds which may inhibit the formation of cataracts. This research is leading to advances in the treatment of cataracts thanks to the generosity of eye donors.
Tissue Utilization | Page 12
Cornea Transplants Take an Orchestra A nearly 25-year career as a corneal surgeon has taken Shachar Tauber, MD, from New York to New Orleans, Alaska to Yale. Twelve years ago his career brought him to Springfield, Missouri and he’s been working with Saving Sight ever since. “When I worked on the East Coast, we didn’t have this kind of relationship with our eye bank. Saving Sight has been like our personal banker,” Dr. Tauber said. “Knowing they’re there, that you can trust that tissue, it’s a relationship that’s made me a better surgeon.” Dr. Tauber’s practice performed more than 120 corneal surgeries last year. His patients are grateful to regain their sight and he shares the credit. “I’m just the conductor of the orchestra,” Dr. Tauber said. “There are many people involved in the transplant from the donor and their family to the hospital staff to Saving Sight who recovers, tests and prepares the tissue to the technicians and nurses in my office,” Dr. Tauber shared. “Patients are exceptionally grateful and it’s heartwarming to be with them as they get their vision back.”
Transplant Tissue Distribution by Geographic Area
Non-Surgical Tissue Utilization
40.1% International 22.5% Missouri 77% Research 22.1% Other U.S.
23% Education & Training
13.6% Kansas 1.7% Illinois
Request Tissue by Calling Client Services at 816-255-1307
Contact Our Business Development Team for More Information
Get 24/7 support from our Client Services team Request tissue and schedule surgeries online with Midwire Match Receive processed tissue 7 days a week
Patrick Gore, RN Chief Business Development Officer 813-753-4487
Lynn Forest-Smith Director of Business Development 727-253-0752
Tissue Utilization | Page 13
Retired Educator Continues to Change Lives Thanks to the Gift of Sight
For over 30 years, Barbara has made a difference in the lives of her students, first as an elementary school teacher and then as a university professor who taught early childhood and special education courses. Barbara is also an avid Mah Jongg player, enjoys making jewelry and loves to read. Now retired, she continues to change lives by teaching university courses online and volunteering with the American Red Cross. Fuchs’ dystrophy threatened Barbara’s ability to continue changing lives, but thanks to the generous gift of an eye donor, she’s still active serving communities through the Red Cross. With a team of other retired educators, Barbara visits schools in Missouri to talk with thousands of 3rd-5th graders each year about emergency preparedness and basic coping skills in disasters. “Thank you – those two words don’t say it enough,” said Barbara. “You don’t really realize how important sight is until it’s gone – it’s a miracle they can make it better.”
Recipients of the Gift | Page 14
We Changed the Lives of 3,016 People In 36 States and 22 Countries
An Ambassador for the Gift of Sight After her life was touched by eye donation, pre-schooler and 5 time corneal transplant recipient Gentry Howard and her family have volunteered with Saving Sight to become ambassadors for donation. In 2015, Gentry provided artwork for Saving Sight’s annual holiday card. The Howards also shared how eye donation had changed Gentry’s life through a video that reached more than 200,000 people online and was recognized by the Eye Bank Association of America as a winner of its “Through My Eyes” Art Contest during National Eye Donor Month. Gentry and her family have honored donor families by participating in The University of Kansas Hospital’s annual Rose Ceremony and helped raise awareness about donation in the community by volunteering at public education events. Recipients of the Gift | Page 15
Nonprofit Org US Postage PAID St. Louis MO Permit #4400
You can change lives by signing up for the donor registry at registerme.org
Eye Donation | Page 16