Support of Ocular Research
In most cases, donated corneas are used to save the sight of up to two cornea recipients. In the rare instance a cornea can’t be transplanted, it can still potentially help save the sight of thousands.
Heartland Lions Eye Banks provides donated eye tissues to medical researchers throughout the nation working on a variety of ocular research projects, including those to prevent, treat and cure corneal disease, glaucoma, cataracts and retinal disorders. In many of these projects, nothing can substitute human tissue.
Additionally, the Eye Bank is the largest supplier of eye tissue to the National Disease Research Interchange (NDRI), a non-profit organization that acts as a connection point for medical researchers and organ, eye and tissue banks.
Ocular Research Projects
Below is a list of organizations that receive tissue from the Eye Bank:
- National Disease Research Interchange
- Lions Eye Insititute for Transplant and Research
- Murphy / Russell Laboratories
- Univeristy of Missouri - Columbia Department of Ophthalmology
- Mason Eye Institute
- iScience
- University of Houston - College of Optometry
- Eye Foundation of Kansas City
- The Foundation for Fighting Blindness
- Cavanaugh Eye Center
- Department of Pathology/Immunology - St. Louis
- Alcon Research Ltd.
- Insight BioMed Inc.
- Washington University School of Medicine - Department of Ophthalmology
- The Retina Foundation of the Southwest
- Other eye banks/physicians on request
