Over the past year, the eye bank has been working diligently to finish the remodeling one of the country’s most advanced eye bank processing facilities – The Lions Jack and Christine Nisselius Eye Banking Annex. The eye bank began using the new facility this past week.The facility features a huge, multi-room pod containing two specialized processing rooms. The pod meets the newest and toughest international standards for processing donated corneas that have been set by the European Union.
Robert Austin, the eye bank’s manager of public and professional relations, said the facility keeps RMLEB on the cutting edge. “The Rocky Mountain Lions Eye Bank has a solid international reputation and some of our European partners are relieved to know that our eye bank has the necessary infrastructure to comply with regulations in their countries.”
The eye bank always places donated corneas with people awaiting a transplant in Colorado and Wyoming first. It then looks to other eye banks around the country or to international eye banks and surgery centers to ensure no donated cornea is wasted. The eye bank has placed corneas in nearly every state and over 20 countries.
For a quick walk-through of the processing pod before it was completely loaded with equipment and put to use can be found here: CLICK HERE. The eye bank will be releasing more information and The History:
Did you know that November is Eye Donation Month? The month was first proclaimed by President Ronald Reagan in 1983. Eye Donation Month has since been used as an opportunity to educate the public about the importance of signing up to be an eye, organ and tissue donor, and about cornea donation and transplantation.