HISTORY
A young Lion in Perry, Oklahoma became interested in the work of Eye Banks
after hearing about them while attending a Lions Convention in the East. He sold
the idea to the Lions of Oklahoma at a State Convention in 1957. It was voted on
and adopted as a state project. This necessitated passage of an Oklahoma law to
legalize the willing of any part or a person's body. Lions did lobbying and leg
work which brought about the writing and passage or such a bill by the 1957
Legislature.
The Eye Bank office opened December 2nd of that year with one employee, a
Medical Director and the ophthalmology residents who performed the eye removals.
The first eye-enucleating course was given at Central State University through
the Department of, Mortuary Science for Funeral Directors. They learned to do
eye retrievals throughout the state. Eye Bank kits were provided for them. After
removal the local Highway Patrol personnel were called to transport the eyes to
the Eye Bank.
The first office was located at University Hospital in the Health Science
Center. In 1975, the office moved to Dean McGee Eye Institute. In 1984, a
technician was employed to open a branch office in Tulsa. In 1989, the Eye Bank
moved to Presbyterian Professional Building due to space shortage in the Eye
Institute, but in December 1992 moved back to Dean McGee Eye Institute on the
4th floor where it is housed today.
There are currently four full time employees and one part-time technician
in Oklahoma City. One employee in the Tulsa branch office that acts as manager
and also does retrievals. There is it part-time Technician in the Lawton branch
and several persons have been trained to do cornea-only retrievals in other
cities of the state.
In 1981 the Eye Bank was certified by the Eye Bank Association of America.
We are charter members of this group. This is a nonprofit organization of eye
banks dedicated to the restoration of sight through the promotion and
advancement of eye banking. Established by the American Academy of
Ophthalmology's committee on eye banks, EBAA's 160 member eye banks including
branches located in States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Canada
and make possible over 40,000 transplantation's annually. As the oldest
transplantation organization, the EBAA has led the transplantation field with
the establishment of medical standards for the procurement and distribution of
eyes, and comprehensive training and certification programs for eye banking
personnel. These standards and certification programs have been used as models
for other transplantation organizations.
Eye Bank Technicians are also certified by the EBAA. They are tested every
three years and attend educational sessions at national EBAA conventions
Annually. The Eye Bank, itself, is inspected and re-certified every three years
by EBAA.
The Eye Bank has provided more than 14,000 corneas for transplants in its 47 years of operation. It also provides tissue for eye prosthesis and research. The effort to save and /or restore sight to thousands of people is a source of pride to all Oklahoma Lions.
