Eye Donation Facts
More than 100,000 Americans are in need of eye, tissue, or organ donations. Worldwide, a shortage of corneas for transplant leaves too many people waiting for the chance to see. You can help. Be a donor and give someone in need restored sight and renewed life.
Many factors determine whether or not a person meets donation criteria, but most people can be donors. Some things that DO NOT necessarily prevent one from being a donor are: age, cataracts, prior surgeries (including laser eye surgery), most cancers, and poor vision. Feel free to contact the eye bank if you have questions about a specific condition and its impact on donation.
- Donation must occur within hours of death.
- Donation can occur at a hospital, in a hospice setting, and at a funeral home.
- Donors are treated with dignity and respect.
- Lions Gift of Sight practices both whole eye and in situ (cornea only) donation.
- While the cornea (the clear tissue in the front of the eye) is the only part of the eye regularly transplanted, the sclera (white of the eye) can also be used in some surgeries.
- The entire eye can be used for research and education.
- Potential donors are screened for ocular and systemic disease to determine eligibility for transplant, research, training, or medical education.
- After an initial screening, staff then check if the potential donor registered their wishes on the Donate Life registry or on their state driver's license. If not, donor coordinators contact next-of-kin to offer the opportunity for their loved one to become a donor.
- A Donor Risk Assessment Interview is completed with the next-of-kin to further screen potential donors. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires this additional screening before donated tissue is released for transplant.
- Potential transplant donors undergo testing of blood specimens to determine tissue safety for transplant recipients. If the tissue is found to be unsuitable for transplant, it may be redirected to research or medical education, with family consent.
- Not all tissue recovered with intent for transplant can be released for transplant. Some contraindications are positive serologies, adverse medical findings found after recovery, and tissue damage or disease.
