Eye donors honored for 'gift of sight'

The Lions Eye Bank of Long Island commemorated the lives of eye donors and celebrated their impact on recipients at a reception on Sept. 20 at Franklin Hospital in Valley Stream

“Through Hudson’s eyes we’re all able to see life differently, and we are forever grateful to the Lions Eye Bank,” said Desiree Mitchell, who attended the event with her 10-year-old daughter, Hudson, the youngest recipient present.

Eye donations help restore sight to those with problems with their cornea, the clear part of the eye that helps regulate light that enters. Problems can be caused by injury, disease or birth defects. A diseased or scarred cornea is replaced with a healthy cornea from a donor. More than 95 percent of all operations restore vision.

A quilt was presented that featured 12 squares designed by family and friends of people whose corneas were donated upon their deaths. The quilt design program was founded in 2012 as a way for family and friends of donors to honor their loved ones and remember the gift they made, according to the organization. Each person who designed a square was given a framed copy of it.

Betty Troy, whose mother Patricia donated her corneas nearly two decades ago, said the donations bring joy and relief to those who receive the donations as well as the families of donors. She said because her mother did not have many opportunities to travel before her death, it “warmed her heart” to know her mother’s eyes were able to see the Eiffel Tower after restoring sight to patients in France.

The Lions Eye Bank was founded nearly 30 years ago and is sponsored by the Lions Club International. It is located at Franklin Hospital, part of the North Shore-LIJ Health System. The bank helps to “recover, evaluate, store and distribute human eye tissue for vision restoration, research and education. Eye surgeons rely on eye banks to supply them with tissue for sight-saving procedures,” the organization said in a statement.

For more information regarding the Lions Eye Bank of Long Island and organ donation, call 516-256-6990.