2023 Impact Report
BECOME A DONOR

Together, We Change Lives

Saving Sight is committed to working with hospitals across our region to facilitate the gift of eye donation. From supporting each donor family to maximizing every opportunity for donation to occur, together we change lives by saving sight.

Resources for Hospital Partners

Saving Sight works with hospitals to treat our donors and their families with compassion and to provide people facing blindness with the miracle of corneal transplantation. We strive to serve each medical professional involved in these processes.

Saving Sight is committed to remaining at the forefront of the eye banking industry, and we consistently rank within the top five nationally in terms of the amount of tissue placed for transplantation. We are only able to accomplish this by providing quality service to each person at every step of the donation process.

To speak with a staff member who works with your specific hospital, please contact our Hospital Development Team. If you need to report a potential donor, please call our 24-hour Donor Services Center hotline: 1-800-331-2636.

Eye Donor Preparation – SEE

When a patient is going to be an eye donor, please perform SEE (Saline, Elevate, Eyelids closed) as soon as possible.  

Conditions for Participation for Organ & Tissue Donation

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) regulate all hospitals that receive any type of federal reimbursement for care provided. As a result, hospitals must operate to remain complaint with CMS regulations called the CMS Conditions of Participation for Hospitals. Numerous regulations within the COP have been put into effect to make hospitals accountable for their donation programs in an effort to increase the number of organs and tissues available for transplant. Click here to review the Federal Conditions of Participation for Organ & Tissue Donation.

 

Donor Designation

Nationally, nearly 120,000 men, woman and children are awaiting organ transplants and each organ donor has the potential to save up to 8 lives and enhance the lives of up to 50 people. Approximately 46,000 Americans will require a cornea transplant this year, and more than 1 million Americans will receive a tissue transplant. You can help spread the word about eye, organ and tissue donation and sign up for the donor registry.

Register

The most important thing you can do to make your own wishes known, after speaking with your family, is signing up on your state’s donor registry. By doing so, you make a public declaration of your intention to donate, which will make it that much easier for your family to fulfill your wishes. You can sign up at the Donate Life America website or at your local Department of Motor Vehicles office. Information about each state registry in Saving Sight’s three-state service area can be found here:

Share

Be sure to speak with your family, coworkers, and friends about donation. If you’re reading this, chances are you already support donation. In order to save more lives, it’s important that we reach out in our communities to connect with people who are not yet registered to donate. You can share the registry information above to help them sign up. Other valuable information about the need for donation and the donation process can be found at these web pages:

Visit donatelife.net for resources to help spread the Donate Life message or see Organizing a Donor Designation Drive to learn how you can host an event to register donors in your community. Contact us if we can support your efforts.