Anne Shares Her Cornea Transplant Experience

As a teacher and artist, Anne was diagnosed with Fuchs’ corneal dystrophy, which, if left untreated, would have blinded her in the left eye. Her vision deteriorated to the extent that she required the transplantation of corneal tissue from a generous eye donor. Today, Anne’s vision is so significantly improved that she can enjoy creating artwork for her friends and acquaintances and remain active in her community as the planning commissioner. Watch the video below to hear her tell her story.

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An Artist’s Vision

Thanks to Saving Sight, I am able to see out of my left eye.

Want to give a gift that changes lives by saving sight? You can help people like Anne regain their sight and lead joyful, independent lives by making a donation at the Giving page. 

Click here to read Anne’s full story. 

 

Winner of 2015 Jachin Misko Memorial Scholarship Announced

Winner of 2015 Jachin Misko Memorial Scholarship Announced

Katie Higgins of the Georgia Eye Bank
is this year’s winner of the Misko memorial scholarship.

Congratulations to Katie Higgins, an eye bank technician at the Georgia Eye Bank. Higgins is this year’s winner of the Jachin Misko Memorial Scholarship for Technical Advancement in Eye Banking, which means she will receive funding for expenses related to attending the Eye Bank Association of America’s Technician
Education Seminar in Tampa, FL on February 4-7, 2015. At the seminar, she will learn more about the practical, technical, and scientific aspects of the eye banking practice.

Higgins is the second winner of the Misko memorial scholarship, which honors the memory of Jachin Misko who was a leader in eye banking at Saving Sight. Saving Sight partnered with Numedis, a manufacturer of corneal preservation media, to offer up to $2,000 to cover the travel, registration, and lodging costs for a promising eye bank technician from an EBAA-member eye bank to attend the EBAA’s Technician Education Seminar (TES).

Tony Bavuso, chief executive  officer, said, “I believe this is a particularly meaningful way to honor Jachin because it represents the impact he had on all of us and on changing lives by saving sight through eye banking.”

The scholarship will be offered for at least the next three years. If you would like to contribute to the scholarship fund to help us honor Misko and support future leaders in eye banking, please visit our Giving page where you can designate your gift to the fund. You can also send a check to our headquarters in Kansas City at 10560 N. Ambassador Dr., Suite 210, Kansas City, MO 64153 with a note stating that your gift is intended to support the Jachin Misko Memorial Scholarship for Technical Advancement in Eye Banking. If you have any questions, please call our accounting department at 1-800-753-2265 or send us a message through our Contact Form.

 

AmazonSmile: Help Us Grow Our Programs This Holiday Season

AmazonSmile: Help Us Grow Our Programs This Holiday Season

Saving Sight now participates in AmazonSmile. AmazonSmile is a fundraising program that enables you to direct a portion of your online purchases to Saving Sight, at no added cost. This holiday season and beyond, shop at AmazonSmile and 0.5% of your total will be donated to Saving Sight and our other vision programs.

Sign up in 3 easy steps:
1.) Go to AmazonSmile by clicking “Get Started” at right.
2.) Login with your Amazon credentials, or create a new account.
3.) Select Saving Sight as your charity of choice.

Then start shopping on AmazonSmile! You only have to choose Saving Sight once. Afterward, all purchases made on smile.amazon.com with your account will help us grow our programs. So be sure to make your Amazon purchases directly through AmazonSmile. For more details about this program, click here. If you have any questions about setting up Saving Sight as your AmazonSmile recipient, please contact us at 800-753-2265. Thank you for your support this holiday season!

Saving Sight Welcomes Two New Board Members from Washington, Missouri

Columbia, Mo. (July 7, 2014) – Dr. Michael Korenfeld and Missy Carr, two members of the Washington community, will join Saving Sight’s board of directors in the 2014-2015 fiscal year. Dr. Korenfeld, an ophthalmologist and owner of Comprehensive Eye Care Ltd, will join the board for his first three-year term as a community board member. And Missy Carr, a member of the Washington Lions club, will be seated for a one-year term as the new Vice-Council Chairperson of the Missouri Lions.

“Our board members provide crucial oversight to help us achieve our goals,” said Chief Executive Officer Tony Bavuso. “Lion Missy and Dr. Korenfeld are going to bring a fresh perspective to our organization’s strategy this year. I’m sure we will be able to change more lives by saving sight through their engagement and support.”

As the State Sight Project of the Missouri Lions, Saving Sight has nine Missouri Lions and four community members on its board. Directors actively participate in long-range planning and secure financial resources to support sight-saving programs such as KidSight and cornea donation & transplantation. As highly visible members of their communities, the board members also enhance Saving Sight’s public standing by sharing the mission, accomplishments and goals with the general public, Lions clubs and other partner organizations.

For more information, contact Annie Kuhl, Chief Communication Officer, at 800-753-2265 or Contact Us.

About Saving Sight
Saving Sight is a 501(c)(3) organization with a mission to change lives by saving sight. Founded in Columbia, Mo. in 1960, the organization introduced eye donation and the gift of sight to Missouri.

 

Save Sight During National Eye Donor Month This March (Kansas City)

Save Sight During National Eye Donor Month This March (Kansas City)

Tom, a veteran from Independence, Missouri, suffered from Fuchs’ dystrophy. Thanks to corneal transplantation, he was able to regain his vision and continue to support his family.

Kansas City, Mo. (March 3, 2014) – Tom, a U.S. Air Force veteran and minister from Independence, Missouri, suffered from Fuchs’ corneal dystrophy, a hereditary disease that causes corneal cells to deteriorate. As the primary earner for his family, Tom’s loss of sight would have had implications not only for himself but also for the family he supports. But thankfully he was diagnosed before he lost his vision entirely, so he received corneal transplants at University of Kansas Hospital in February 2012 and October 2013, which restored his sight and enabled him to return to work until retirement. 

Approximately 46,000 Americans will need a cornea transplant this year just like Tom. March is National Eye Donor Month, so Saving Sight is encouraging people to pledge to be eye, organ and tissue donors through the donor registry and to speak with their families about their decision to donate. People can sign up for the donor registry online at DonateLife.net or at the nearest Department of Motor Vehicles office. 

Thanks to the generosity of eye donors, their families and supportive hospital staff, Saving Sight was able to provide donated eye tissue for 2,587 corneal transplants in 2013, including Tom. During National Eye Donor Month, Saving Sight honors donors and encourages people to take the opportunity to join in saving sight: 

  • Learn more about eye donation at www.saving-sight.org/cornea-donation.
  • Pledge to be an eye, organ, and tissue donor on the donor registry at DonateLife.net.
  • Speak with family and friends about the choice to donate.
  • Share the message of donation with others in the community. 

According to the Eye Bank Association of America, “over 95 percent of all corneal transplant operations successfully restore the corneal recipient’s vision.”
So eye donors have an incredible impact on the lives of recipients, often relieving pain and reviving independence. In fact, a recent study coordinated by the EBAA found that corneal transplants in the U.S., by enabling people to resume employment and lead healthy lives, offer a total lifetime net benefit of nearly $6 billion. “The EBAA’s study does a great job of illustrating that eye donors not only give the gift of sight to recipients but they also enhance prosperity in our communities,” said Tony Bavuso, chief executive officer of Saving Sight. 

“So far, I couldn’t be happier,” Tom said. “I’m grateful to those who made the cornea donation, and I’m thankful to the Almighty that we’re able to do [transplant surgeries] these days.” On behalf of Tom and the other 2,586 people who received the healing gift of sight in 2013, Saving Sight thanks everyone who pledges to be an eye, organ and tissue donor and shares that decision with family this National Eye Donor Month. 

Read Tom’s corneal transplantation story. 

About Saving Sight
Saving Sight is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a mission to change lives by saving sight. Founded in Columbia, Mo. in 1960, the organization introduced eye donation and the gift of sight to Missouri.

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