History of Lions Eye Banking

Jeffrey G. Penta, MBA, CEBTSan Diego Eye Bank

Hawai’i Lions Eye Bank & Makana Foundation

ALOHA!

Sight is beautiful

Sight is magical

A lack of sight…….

History of Lions Eye Banks

• First Lions Eye Banks

• Growth of Eye Banking

• Lions Eye Banks Today

• Importance of Sight-Saving Services

Origins of Eye Banking

• The first human transplant was a cornea transplant• December 1905: Dr Eduard Zirm in Austria• It still continues to be one of the most successful

organ/tissue transplantations

First Cornea Transplant

Donor: Karl Brauer• 11 years old, bicycle

accident • Could not save his eyes • Dr Zirm enucleated the

damaged eyes • Corneal tissue removed

for transplantation into recipient eyes

First Cornea Transplant

Recipient: Alois Gloger• 43 years old, a laborer • Blinded in an accident

while working with lime • Back working within three

months of transplant • One transplant failed, but

he retained sight in other eye for the rest of his life

In 1925, Helen Keller addressed the Lions international convention in Cedar Point, Ohio, USA. She challenged Lions to become “Knights of the Blind in the crusade against darkness”

World’s First Eye Bank1944

• R. Townley Paton, MD• Eye Bank for Sight Restoration, New York City• Staten Island Central Lions Club

• 1945: Buffalo, New York Lions Eye Bank & Research Society

Eye Bank Association of America

• Established in 1961• 37 members

EBAA Chair of the Board (1961-2016)

First Last Chair TermDavid Glasser MD 2014-2016Dave Korroch CEBT 2012-2014Marian Macsai, MD 2010-2012Bruce Varnum 2008-2010Edward Holland, MD 2006-2008Patricia Dahl 2004-2006Michael Hettinger, MD 2002-2004Barbara Crow, CEBT 2000-2002Wing Chu, MD 1998-2000Mary Beth Danneffel, RN 1996-1998William Reinhart, MD 1994-1996Ellen Heck, MT, ASCP 1992-1994Mark Mannis, MD 1990-1992Richard Fuller 1988-1990Jay Krachmer, MD 1986-1988C.W. Temples 1984-1986Busharat Ahmad, MD 1984A. Howard Snyder, Jr. 1983Frederick Brightbill, MD 1982Jim Jerva 1981Leo Landhuis, MD 1980W.M. Goldfinch, MD 1979Walter Mayer, MD 1978John Nichols 1977John W. McTigue, MD 1976Orville Gauthier 1975Ronald B. Harris, MD 1974John Googe 1973Alson E. Braley, MD 1972R. Kenneth Hudgins 1970-1971Morris Kaplan, MD 1968-1969Leonard B. Heise 1966-1967Lawrence D. Holt 1964-1965Ted Hunter 1963Ross Guglielmino 1961-1962

Eye Banking = Lions

Without LionsEye Banks would not exist

2014 Eye Banking DataUnited States

• 128,675 corneas recovered in U.S. last year• 72,000 corneas for transplant• 26,000 corneas for research/education• 1,250,000 million corneas provided for

transplant in the past 25 years

209 corneas transplanted each day

209 corneas transplanted each day

BUT……………the need

• Large need for eye banks and corneal tissue– China: over 2.5 million– India: over 1.1 million– rest of world???

• EBAA• EEBA• EBAANZ

93,000 per year (39 years)

San Diego Vietnamese Lions Club(2008)

• Collaborative effort of:– San Diego Vietnamese Lions Club– San Diego Executive Lions Club– Poway Lions Club– Poway Lions Medical/Educational Foundation

• Sponsoring:– cataract surgeries– cornea transplants– eye care training

2011• Additional collaboration with Shiley Eye

Center and San Diego Eye Bank

Ho Chi Minh City Eye Bank & Ho Chi Minh City Lions Club

March 2011

Ho Chi Minh City Eye Bank & Ho Chi Minh City Lions Club

March 2011

286 cataract surgeries, 6 cornea transplants

Idaho Lions Eye Bank

Panelist: Lion Jay Lugo

Florida Lions Eye Bank

Panelist: Lion Elizabeth Fout-Caraza

Lions Eye Bank of Delaware Valley

Panelist: Lion Jim Quirk

Closing Remarks

• What did we learn?• Where do we go from here?

Jeff Penta, Moderator

Mahalo!