Changing Lives Every Day
Gift of Sight donor - Richard Murphy
Richard Murphy of Iowa lived most of his life with physical disabilities resulting from severe injuries sustained in a car accident that almost ended his life at only nine months of age. To this day, his loving mother credits the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics for saving her infant son’s life.
Lions Legacy Project
The Iowa Lions Foundation recently voted to award $30,000 of the $65,000 they are raising for the Iowa Lions Legacy Project to support the Iowa Lions Eye Bank research team. This funding allowed ILEB to purchase a much-needed piece of research equipment, the Chemidoc MP Imaging System.
Donor Family Visits ILEB
Family Services Coordinator, Deb Schuett, welcomed special guests to the eye bank—Geri Ryan and her daughter, Patti, from the Dubuque area. Geri is the wife of Paul F. Ryan who died in 2002 at Finley Hospital in Dubuque. Paul donated his corneas to the Iowa Lions Eye Bank for transplant to 2 grateful recipients, one from Illinois and the other from Iowa.
Over 40 Years Later, A Gift of Sight is Still Remembered
Our family services coordinator received a call from Elaine Assad asking about her late husband’s eye donation which occurred in 1971. Elaine shared that after all of these years, she still thinks about her late husband around the anniversary of his death, and she called the eye bank because she was unsure about some details of his donation.
Lions’ efforts in 2007 result in new therapy in 2018
Physician clinicians and researchers in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the University of Iowa continue to make important research breakthroughs in the fight to combat Leber’s Congenital Amaurosis (LCA), a genetically inherited eye disease that causes babies to be born blind or children to go blind before reaching school age.
James Continues to Give After His Death
James Neisz (Sep 23, 1968 - Apr 12, 2018)
James, from Arthur, IA, was happily married to the love of his life, Tanya, and had eight children, who were his pride and joy. James loved fishing and enjoyed anything to do with cars, old and new. Gathering with his family and friends brought great happiness to James, and he is dearly missed by all who knew and loved him.
Iowa Lion Transporters - Over One Million Miles Driven
The Lions Clubs of Iowa celebrate a major milestone in their partnership with the Iowa Lions Eye Bank by driving over one million miles across the state of Iowa for eye donation.
Cornea Donation and Transplantation Brings New Connection to Lifelong Friends
“I know who my donor is.”
These were the first words cornea recipient Lynn Hauser said during a phone call to the Iowa Lions Eye Bank family services coordinator, Deb Schuett. Throughout her ten years as family services coordinator, Deb has had very few calls where a recipient believed to know their donor, and never were their suspicions correct.
Alex McVicker (Mar 22, 1983 - Dec 06, 2017)
Four ILEB corneas restore sight in Swaziland
When former University of Iowa resident and fellow Dr. Matthew Ward needed corneal tissue for transplants during a recent mission trip to Swaziland with The Luke Commission (TLC), he immediately reached out to the Iowa Lions Eye Bank.