Saving Sight is proud to highlight First Gift, a new division within our organization that strengthens our ability to change lives through donation. First Gift represents an important step forward in expanding our impact beyond corneal transplantation and into new areas where donated tissues can bring comfort, healing, and hope.
Through the First Gift program, new and expectant mothers can donate their placental and umbilical cord tissues after birth. These tissues, often discarded, hold powerful healing properties that can be used in a wide range of medical treatments. They support patients receiving ocular therapies and play an important role in helping individuals recover from non-healing skin wounds and serious burns. In many cases, these tissues promote healing that would not otherwise be possible.
Remarkably, just one mother’s donation can help up to 75 individuals regain comfort, mobility, and independence.
First Gift is now established in two partner hospitals, and we look forward to expanding its reach as more hospitals join the program. Each new partnership strengthens our connection to families, enhances the donation process, and allows Saving Sight to serve our communities in new and meaningful ways.
By embracing innovative opportunities like First Gift, we continue to advance Saving Sight’s mission to transform lives through donation and transplantation. To learn more about First Gift and its life-changing work, visit the
The Gift of Healing Your Baby’s Birth Could Transform Someone’s Life Every birth is a gift, and through birth tissue donation, you have the opportunity to help others heal. We realize that you might have additional questions about birth tissue donation,...
“One of my favorite things to do is swing on the 10-foot-tall swing in my backyard,” says Carol. “I go on it every day and as I’m swinging, I can see everything going on and all the changes in the seasons. Every time I do it, I see something new in my yard and my...
60 Years of Changing Lives by Saving Sight!Join us in a look at our past and see our vision for the future as we celebrate our 60th annivesary in 2020. KidSight Vision Screening Program Throughout our 60 year history, Saving Sight has been involved in many...
One of Barb’s Favorite Songs Includes the Words: “If I can help somebody as I pass along, If I can cheer somebody with a word or song, If I can show somebody he is travelling wrong, Then my living will not be in vain.”
“My mom was ALWAYS happy! She was everyone’s best friend and she never met a stranger,” says Tamika of her mom, Barb. “She had the most beautiful smile and the most distinctive laugh ever!”
Tamika adds that Barb was an expert shopper and bargain-hunter who loved finding deals on clothes and shoes, but especially loved purchasing home decor. “She took pride in her decorating skills, and loved searching magazines for the latest in interior design. She loved cooking and enjoyed entertaining friends at her home, and was also an avid reader. She would read a book a day! Above all else, she loved spending time with her family – especially her grandchildren. She was definitely their biggest fan.”
When Barb passed away, she was able to give the gift of sight to others as an eye donor. “My mom made the choice to become an organ donor through the DMV and encouraged me to do the same,” says Tamika. “That’s the type of person she was…always a giver. She impacted so many people – her funeral services were attended by over 400 people!”
Tamika chose to write to her mother’s recipient through Saving Sight’s Correspondence Program because she felt it was important to make that connection with her recipient. “I wanted them to know more about their donor, and I wanted to learn more about them as well. It’s mind-blowing to know that there’s a part of her that lives on in someone else!”
“I’d like to believe that someone’s life has been enhanced because of my mom’s donation. I hope that they know that by receiving any part of her, they are connected to a brilliant, strong, loving, faith-filled person.”
#LiveLikeBarb
“#LiveLikeBarb was something that I came up with right after my mom passed away,” says Tamika. “So many people spoke about how they aspired to be like her or how they admired the type of person she was. That hashtag is a small reminder that we should all strive to live the way she did. Even while living with Congestive Heart Fail-ure, she never allowed her health to slow her down. She always had joy, was always quick to forgive, she never complained, and she lived a life of gratitude. Who wouldn’t want to Live Like Barb? The buttons are just a tangible reminder of that – I usually keep several on hand at all times because I’m always running into a classmate of hers, a for-mer co-worker…even her favorite cashier at JCPenney asked for one!”
“In honor of my mom’s birthday, I got Live Like Barb tattooed on my shoulder…I’m sure she was somewhere rolling her eyes about that!”
“I made a promise that my mom would be famous – that her name and legacy would live forever. I don’t ever want her story to be solely about me and my journey without her…my goal is to have her life story impact others in a way that helps them to live their lives in a more meaningful way.”
Joining the Donor Registry
For those considering joining the organ, eye and tissue donor registry, Tamika says: “The most important thing that we can do while we’re here on earth is to be a blessing to someone. That’s how you leave a legacy, by ensuring that someone else has a second chance at life through the generosity of organ donation. It’s a chance to be a hero.” You can join the donor registry at your local DMV or at www.registerme.org.
#LiveLikeBarb