Miracles In Sight Aims To End Corneal Blindness
BY ISAAC L. PERRY, BS, MBA, CEBT
At Miracles In Sight, a nonprofit eye bank that recovers, processes, and distributes ocular tissue, our goal is to bring vision and hope to the world. We recover tissue from about 6,000 eyes each year, about 70% of which are transplanted. The tissue that doesn’t meet quality standards is used for surgical training or research at academic institutions. Our tissue preparation services cover all types of cornea surgery. What’s more, because the supply of corneal tissue in the United States exceeds demand, we distribute tissue internationally and continually find new ways to help the blind.
Future innovations revolve around the three core components of health care’s so-called iron triangle: cost, quality, and access. As we continue to develop our service offerings around these ideals, several fertile areas for innovation have emerged.
Making Key Connections
Miracles In Sight responds to notifications by the central organ procurement organization that someone has died and may be a candidate for donation. We discuss this option with families during a very difficult time in their lives, just hours after they have lost a loved one. Often, the death is unexpected and the donor may be relatively young. Ultimately, we want to gain consent and move forward with recovery, but we know firsthand that the decision to donate — while every generous and profound — is also extremely difficult, especially when it’s made at such a painful time.
Our goal as an organization is to continually strengthen our bonds with donors and families, recognizing their enormous generosity and, ultimately, helping them derive some meaning from a devastating loss. We let families know that thanks to their generosity, a blind person may regain his or her vision in a few days. Donor families are sent a thank you letter and a blanket as a token of appreciation.
Through community outreach, we strive to educate our local population about the benefits of donation with the goal of generating an open discussion. We encourage people to talk to their families about their desire to donate, so that if their family members are faced with an unexpected tragedy, they’re prepared to make the decision based on knowledge of their loved one’s wishes. This informed decision allows us to recover tissue more quickly, which can lead to better surgical outcomes.
Read the entire article in The Ophthalmic ASC’s February 2018 Edition.
