The Mission of the Illinois Eye-Bank
Our mission is the restoration of sight.
This is accomplished through:
- Recovery, evaluation and distribution of the highest quality eye tissue for transplantation, as
well
as for ophthalmic research and training.
- Funding of peer-reviewed research grants in support of improved diagnosis, treatment and prevention of eye and vision disorders.
- Provision of public and professional education to increase awareness
of the continuing need for donation of eye tissue, as well as all other tissues and organs.
- Supporting the continued development of eye banking, domestically and internationally, and the continuing development of related professional disciplines.
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National Eye Donor Month
Please join the Illinois Eye-Bank in celebrating
National Eye Donor Month
this March.
National Eye Donor Month was started by President Ronald Reagan in 1983, and every March since, a member of Congress has read a proclamation into the Congressional Record to note this special occasion.
National Eye Donor Month raises awareness of the need for donated eye tissue. About 40,000 sight-restoring cornea transplants are performed in the United States every year, according to the Eye Bank Association of America. Without the generosity of eye donors, their families and the support of hospital staff, these transplants would not be possible.
In recognition of Eye Donor Month, the Eye-Bank will be releasing a March calendar, featuring Illinois residents from around the state who made the decision to join the Illinois Organ/Tissue Donor Registry. The poster-sized calendar can be displayed in workplaces, hospitals and public spaces.
If you would like a calendar for your workplace, contact Mary Schlereth at
(312) 706-6771 or mschlereth@illinoiseyebank.org.
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National Donate Life Month
National Eye Donor Month in March is followed by
National Donate Life,
which is April.
The earliest incarnation of Donate Life Month was National Organ Donor Awareness Week, held April 22-29, 1984. It was meant to recognize the altruism and generosity of organ donors. Soon after, the official name of the week became National Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness Week, an acknowledgement of the United States’ many tissue donors, and was held every year during the third week of April.
The week of observance grew to a month in 2003, and has expanded to recognize the need for not only organs and tissue, but blood and bone marrow, as well.
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Ways you can help promote eye, organ and tissue donation
Do you want to help raise public awareness of the importance of eye,
organ and tissue donation?
Here are few simple things you can do to
promote donation:
- Become a fan of the Illinois Eye-Bank & Donate Life Illinois on Facebook.
- Add www.IJoined.org to your e-mail signature.
- Schedule a free 20-minute educational program for your local community club or organization.
- Identify books and movies about donation in your local library and suggest that they be featured in a monthly display.
- At your next community blood drive, ask for permission to provide information about organ and tissue donation at the snack table.
- Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper encouraging others to register as donors.
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Honoring your loved one or donor
 Are you looking for a way to honor a donor, whether it’s a friend,
relative or the anonymous person who gave you or a loved one a
second chance for sight?
You can create a Donor Tribute on our Donor Tribute Web site, www.donortribute.org. Your Tribute can take whatever form you would like;
it could be a poem, a letter, an essay or a memory. You are also welcome to include a photo. To submit a tribute, go to www.donortribute.org, and click the “Add a Tribute” tab.
You can also make a memorial quilt square for the Gift of Hope Donor Quilt. The Quilt was started by a Gift of Hope volunteer, whose son became a donor after a motorcycle accident. Each square becomes a part of panels that travel throughout Illinois and northwest Indiana to be displayed at public awareness events, memorials, meetings and other special events. For information on creating your quilt square, visit www.giftofhope.org/our-public-outreach/donor-family-recipients/donor-quilt.htm#ps.
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 Public Service Announcement
The Illinois Eye-Bank recently released a new Public Service Announcement, featuring twin cornea recipients Madison and Malia.
After their transplants, the girls wrote and illustrated a book about corneal transplantation, called, “The Blind Porcupine.”
Hear them read their book aloud in the new PSA, available here.
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Coffee House Conversations: Communicating and Connecting with Donor Recipients (or Not)
The National Kidney Foundation is offering a free Coffee House Conversations telephone conference call to help donor families learn more about communicating with organ or tissue transplant recipients.
The call will run from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Central Time on February 25. It will cover the process for sending and receiving letters, the benefits and concerns of communicating and other ways to connect with recipients.
More information is available on the Coffee House Conversations flyer.
To register, call (888) JOIN-NKF or visit www.kidney.org/coffeehouse.
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