News & Stories

Iowa Lions Eye Bank encourages corneal transplant patients to write to the loved ones of those who donated the tissue used in their surgeries, to express their gratitude. Retired Attorney Karl Nelson wrote his donor that he was inspired to register as an eye, organ, and tissue donor himself, and actively support and advocate for Iowa Lions Eye Bank.

Although Doug Kahler had cancer, he was still eligible to be an eye donor, because unlike with tissue and organ donation, a cancer diagnosis does not often preclude the gift of sight.

01/15/1981 - 11/10/2024

08/29/1992 - 11/06/2024

12/16/1966 - 11/1/2024

11/27/1948 - 02/09/2025

Eye Donation Month is an annual observance raising awareness about cornea donation and transplantation, honoring the gift of sight given by selfless donors and their families, celebrating corneal transplant recipients, and educating about eye donation and encouraging individuals to register as donors.

09/29/1963 - 11/09/2024

On September 13, 2025, Iowa Lions Eye Bank marked its 70th anniversary with the Strikes for Sight fundraiser at Colonial Lanes in Iowa City. The event honored decades of sight-saving work and featured a powerful simulation of Fuchs Dystrophy, allowing attendees to experience vision loss firsthand.

Dave McGlaughlin says he picked his wife, Jeanna, out of a catalog. “We both worked at West Music at the same time,” Dave says. “Every year, the music education department published a catalog of all the bongos, maracas and stuff they sold to universities and schools, and they always had pictures of the staff.” Dave worked at the West Music in Waterloo at the time, while Jeanna worked at the Coralville location. He says he thought Jeanna looked cute in her picture in the catalog. “I knew she was the one,” Dave says.