AEB has enjoyed a long and satisfying relationship with the UAB Department of Ophthalmology for over 30 years that has expanded and enhanced the mission for restored vision in Alabama, the United States and worldwide. The unified collaboration has brought much new advancement of corneal surgery techniques, procedures and increased resources for research.

AEB, which has ranked among the Top 10 Eye Banks in the world in corneal tissue recovery for more than two decades, realized that an effective Eye Bank is dependent upon the academic quality of vision scientists, ophthalmologists and the support of ancillary professors. Doyce Williams, CEO says, “I believe in this type of venue and the leadership of Dr. Girkin, UAB Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology,  that will continue to encourage, foster and strengthen the goal and main purpose which is to provide the absolute best care possible to the vision impaired and blind locally and throughout the world.”

Dr. Christopher Girkin, M.D. who is Chairman & Professor of the Department of Ophthalmology for the University of Alabama-Birmingham School of Medicine responded by saying, “It’s been an honor for us to be apart of this exciting endeavor. Working along side the Alabama Eye Bank has been inspirational giving those physicians and residents who are hungry for knowledge the opportunity to grow and advance in their careers.”

On April 12^th, 2013 Doyce Williams presented a commemorative plaque that displays all previous speakers and publicly communicates the mission of the lecture series along with the effort and passion between AEB and UAB to restore sight and hope through corneal transplant surgery. The plaque will be on display in the Smith Education Center at the UAB Callahan Eye Hospital.

The Alabama Eye Bank is a 501-C3 not-for-profit that has the unique job of helping victims of corneal blindness find sight.  For more than 40 years, the AEB has been dedicated to creating a corneal delivery service to solve the unmet vision needs in eye care.  AEB is the 4^th largest eye bank in North America and has been ranked in the top ten for over 28 consecutive years.

I am writing to express my sincere, heartfelt gratitude to you and members of your family for my gift of sight. I know your decision of organ donation was made at the most difficult time of your lives. As a result of your love and generosity I received a cornea tissue transplant a few weeks ago.

I cannot adequately express the emotions of thankfulness I feel. A few days after surgery my vision was brighter and clearer without distortion I experienced for years. Thank you for this living gift. I am a 69 year old Registered Nurse. Retired and residing in Alabama. My husband and I will celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary in a few months. We have 3 children and 7 grandchildren (ages 18 yrs – 2yrs). Two of our children are serving in Christian Ministry positions.

We are a close family and often get together for Sunday dinners and fishing trips to our camphouse on the river. I am most grateful that in the moment of your difficult situation, God’s grace was extended to me through your precious loved one. God bless and comfort you is my prayer.  I welcome correspondence or personal contact but at the same time I have the deepest respect for your privacy in your time of grief.

I hope you feel a sense of continuing life and love through your gift of sight for which I will be FOREVER GRATEFUL.

Sincerely,

On that May 2006 morning, I had walked out to the hospital’s parking lot to start telephoning his children to break the news that their Dad had unexpectedly passed away. I had been pacing in the  parking lot for several minutes, while making the phone calls, when one of the nurses motioned from the doorway for me to come back into the hospital. It was then that they asked me if I wanted to sign the “O.K” for Ronald to be a donor. If I had gone ahead and drove back home sooner, instead of staying in the parking lot, we all would have missed this special opportunity to become donor/recipient.

Before it was “fashionable” to be a donor, I contacted the Alabama Lions Club Eye Bank to receive an Eye Will card. I still have that Eye Will card, which is dated September 1980, in my billfold next to my driver’s license. Someday I hope that I will be a donor too.

Many years ago, long before my husband’s death, I thought about “What if I lost my sight, or my
hearing, or my speech? If I could pick ONE to KEEP, which one would I prefer?” I have chosen SIGHT. Sight is priceless. I enjoy sitting in the rocking chair on the front porch and watching the creatures’ and birds’ movements. I enjoy watching my grandchildren grow and mature on a daily basis. My favorite time of the day is from daybreak and then for the next couple of hours; nature seems so fresh and reborn.

Five years have now passed. It is a milestone on me becoming a widow, finding a different way to live without the husband I once had. It is a milestone for you in receiving the transplant. I am very glad in just knowing that someone, somewhere, benefited.

I apologize for not knowing what to expect from a cornea transplant, but I pray that all has gone well for you. I do understand that there is always a possibility that the transplant may be rejected, that’s ok, I am still interested in hearing from you and how you are now. I would be very grateful.

Hope to hear from you.

Sincerely,

Cindy

-

“Dear friend,

Yesterday was his 56th birthday. our family went to the cemetery and placed roses and a “Happy Birthday” balloon on his grave. The three grandchildren released helium filled balloons into the heavens as we all said, “Happy Birthday.”

He died suddenly and without warning. There are no words to describe the depth of my pain. We were married 36 years, 11 months and 4 days. He was strong, faithful, devoted, kind, loving and caring. And he was funny. He made me laugh. And he was my best friend in the whole wild world, and I his. He was born on Oct 22, 1956. he grew up with a father, mother, older brother and younger sisters. He had both sets of grandparents until one grandmother died when he was 18. His dad died when he was 49 years old. His mama is 83 years old and is in a nursing home. She has dementia and does not know her son is dead, only that he cannot make it to visit her anymore.

Growing up he wanted to be a doctor but there was no money for college. After graduation from high school (he was smart and at the top 10 of his class) he went to work at a local factory. Payday was after 2 weeks of working. When he got his first paycheck, he quit. He needed more money and knew he would never make it working there. Then he went to a big city to work at a family car business. That didn’t last long because he met me and moved back home. Then he went to work at a sheet metal company where his brother worked. When his dad died he went to work for another company for about 9 months. He was 23 years old and needed a change. But then he went back to the sheet metal company and stayed there for the rest of his working career. In the early days when work was slow he swept the floors. His hard work and dedication paid off. After many years of hard work and long hours, his boss sold the company to him. That only meant more long hours and hard work.

Early into our marriage he worked 3 jobs at one time. He worked at the sheet metal company, him and a friend had a sheet metal business on the side, and he taught metal fabrication at a college, being a a sheet metal instructor. He often joked that he didn’t go to college but he taught college.

After 9 1/2 years of marriage we were blessed with a beautiful baby girl. 25 months alter we had a son. He was an answered prayer. Because of morning-sickness being in the hospital during pregnancy, C-Section deliveries, and difficult recovery time after childbirth, this would be all of the children we would have. Both of our children graduated high school being honor students. Both graduated from college, and both have gotten married. We were blessed with a wonderful son-in-law and daughter-in-law. We have 3 beautiful, smart and talented grandchildren, 2 girls and one boy. Thanks to God, at least he lived long enough to see this. He had planned to do with them the things and spend time he didn’t get to because of working so many long hours when our children were young. Now our grandchildren will grow up like our children did – with only one grandfather. This is one of the things I hate the most! Grandparents are such blessings to little people.

When we got married on August 2nd, 1975 we were both 18 years old. We were poor. Interest rates on borrowed money were at 17%. We had to finish paying for my diamond after we were married. We had a church wedding. My mama made my wedding dress. We had a reception with cake and punch. We lived rent free in an old house my parents owned. It was cold. We heated with a wood-burning heater stone. We moved 2 more times before we built our new house. 13-years after we were married, we learned early into our marriage if we didn’t have the money (no credit cards) to pay for something, we didn’t get it. But this lesson paid off because at age 40 we had our new house paid for. We worked hard for Bug blessed us beyond what we could ever had imagined.

Our marriage was not perfect, but it was good. On our anniversary he would get me one long stemmed red rose for every year we were married. This year on our anniversary, I took 37 long stemmed red roses and placed them on his grave. I plan to give him roses now as long as I live. I have ordered our monument. We both liked the black ones so this is what I picked out.  A couple of years ago he started planing his retirement. He had taken one or two days off only working 3-4 for the last couple of years. He sold the company to our daughter and son-in-law. He was to be completely retired by the end of the year. We got passports. We had plans to have and see the world, plans to spend a lot of the time with the grandchildren, fish all he wanted to, hunt when he could, continue taking his guitar lessons and have all of the time to do sudoku, which he loved to do.

He was helping me water my flowers and plants out by the swimming pool when he slipped and fell. He broke his left leg-down by his ankle. He tore the tendon in his right knee. We went to the ER and then to the doctor the next day. 3 days later he had surgery on his right knee. He came home from the hospital the next day. Because he was on pain pills 24/7 we asked for no visitors. (Why is it we can find time to visit when people are sick and don’t feel like company and not when they are well and would enjoy our visit?) Even our children and grandchildren limited their visits. Thank God they did visit us on July 4th. He died 2 days later on Friday, July 6th at 12:45pm. I had went into the bathroom and he was getting into the bed. (He was in a wheelchair and would be off both legs for 6-weeks) When I came out of the bathroom he said, “Patricia, my heart is running away.” I grabbed the phone to call 911 for help. About 4 minutes later he was gone, dying from a blood clot that was going to both lungs.

I can not describe the depth of my despair. There are no words to describe the pain I have felt. 2 months after he died I had lost 15-pounds. I have read 7 books on grief to try and make some service of this tragic loss. Didn’t God know he had worked hard all of his life and was finally going to retire and enjoy his life? All I could think about was the earthly things he would miss out on. The vacations and trips we had planned. Time with the children and grandchildren. But I know because of a decision he made long ago, he is in Heaven. Like David (in the Bible) said when his son died, I can’t bring him back, but I can go be with him and that is what I plan to do. To spend eternity in Heaven with him.

I take the top off his aftershave/cologne to remember what he smells like. I wear one of his shirts over my pj’s for a housecoat. (I did this before he died) I keep the watch he wore every day by my make-up mirror and sometimes I just lay my hand over it. I keep a lot of pictures of him out so he is always close by. I kept his cellphone and use it instead of mine. I crawl into a cold bed at night and miss him more than there are words to describe. He always went to bed before me so it was always warm when I got into it.

I miss my best friend.

I made the decision to donate his eyes. We had talked about organ donation but didn’t have it on our drivers license. (He had an employee who had a liver transplant several years ago) Our oldest grand-daughter has some eye problems and I have a niece who has been blind in one eye since she was one years old. I have told my daughter and son-in-law, “When my time comes and I die, donate my eyes.” This was the first of many decisions I would have to make on my own now that I am a widow. I think he would be proud.

I hope you appreciate and take care of the gift of his “eyes,” they were beautiful. I hope it would encourage your family to be organ donors. We would love to hear back from you if you choose to do so, but we gave this gift, expecting nothing in return.

We take so much for granted. When people ask me how they can help, I tell them, “Love your family, hug them a little longer, hug them a little tighter everyday. Know that the last thing you say to someone might be it on this earth.” I wish someone had told me this a long time ago. I have told our children the best way we can honor his memory is the way we live our lives. I am determined not to let his death make me bitter. I will get better, I know that it will take a long time. But we will see him again, one day.

In closing I would like to use the saying we put with his picture and in the local newspaper after he died. “This we know but so often forget; there are not guarantees in life; each day of 24-hours comes wrapped as a gift from God. Spend it wisely; spend it well.”

God bless you and yours,

His wife”

Fifty countries and counting, AEB and an organization it established, Global Sight Network (GSN), are working together to not only bring sight to the sightless but partner with doctors performing new kinds of surgeries using donated corneas.

Traditional corneal transplant surgery, called Penetrating Keratoplasty, required removal of the patient’s entire cornea, which may have only been partially diseased or damaged, and was replaced with a healthy donor cornea. Innovative new surgeries, such as the ones described below, can now take place with only the damaged cells of the endothelial layer of the cornea being removed and replaced. These surgeries are safer and heal more quickly. The cornea has five layers, which perform various functions. The endothelium is a single layer of cells on the inner surface of the cornea that acts to keep it dehydrated and pump in nutrients.

“For many years the Alabama Eye Bank (AEB) has worked to help change lives dramatically for the better. Supplying the best corneal transplant tissue to those in need regardless of finances is just part of what they do. Even so, February 7, 2012, was a special day for many, thanks to AEB. That day marks the transfer of some of the world’s most refined and life-changing eye surgery to the residents of Nicaragua,” Dr. John Parker, UAB ophthalmologist, said.

Dr. Parker was referring to a corneal transplant using DMEK (Descemet’s Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty), a type of corneal transplant that is done without stitches, which heals at least 10 times faster than a standard transplant. The surgery was performed by missionary surgeon Dr. Miguel Naveiras of Oviedo, Spain on a young woman named Nubia Ortiz who had experienced corneal swelling that had limited her activities to a minimum.

In addition, Dr. Parker himself performed a similar procedure on the same day in Nicaragua called DSAEK (Descemet’s Stripping Automated Endothelial Keratoplasty). In DSAEK the unhealthy or damaged corneal tissue (endothelial layer) is replaced with healthy donor corneal tissue from the eye bank. The entire eye operation can be completed in about 30 minutes.

Back in Birmingham UAB researchers were confirming a new use for AEB-GSN corneas: glaucoma shunt coverage. The breakthrough provides a choice for patients undergoing glaucoma surgery to relieve pressure build up in the eye, between pericardium (which is most commonly used to cover these drainage devices), and glycerol-preserved corneas provided by GSN. Pericardium is the membrane which surrounds the heart, while glycerol corneas are specially preserved corneas that are not suitable for sight-restoring transplant but can be used for shunt coverage and patch grafts for other ocular surgeries.

The study by the UAB researchers that was recently published in the Journal of Glaucoma showed that in patients undergoing tube implantations for the first time, corneal grafts were less likely to thin or erode over time than the pericardium grafts, and therefore are less likely to encounter risk for infection or subsequent reparative surgery. Corneas preserved in glycerol have a longer shelf life (up to five years) and can be stored at room temperature.

Eric Wigton, MD, lead researcher in the glaucoma shunt study, said, “This is the first study to directly compare glycerol preserved corneal tissue to another patch graft material in glaucoma shunt surgery. It demonstrates that corneal tissue is at least as effective as pericardium in preventing tube erosion and may also delay the time to erosion. Additionally, it is less cosmetically obvious than other available materials.”

Years ago we never could have imagined a world so small that a gift given by a family in Alabama would be flown half-way around the world to restore sight, or that donated corneas could be used in any way other than a traditional penetrating keratoplasty surgery.

It all starts with the kindness and willingness of donor families to say yes to AEB counselors when asked about donating their loved one’s corneas. The need is always great, but so is the potential for meeting that need thanks to the generosity of donors and their next-of-kin.

Hospitals and their staff also play an important role in meeting the need.  “We are so grateful to all the nurses across Alabama who believe in what we do. Their positive influence acts as a bridge to consent. Whether we’re providing tissue for transplant, research or education, we want to thank everyone for using their influence in a positive way for the gift of sight,” Ellen Kerns, Vice President of Technical Services, said.

CONTACT:

Joseph Beckham

P:  205.313.8322

jwbeckham@alabamaeyebank.org

Alabama Eye Bank (AEB) President and CEO Doyce Williams has been appointed to serve on the Cornea Preservation Time Study (CPTS) Advisory Committee. The committee will examine the potential for extending the time that corneal surgery can be performed from the current seven days up to 14 after a cornea is recovered from a donor.

The study has been awarded $12.3 million, the largest grant of its kind from the National Eye Institute. According to Dr. Jonathan Lass, chairman of the Case Western Reserve Department of Ophthalmology, the study will collaborate with Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and the Jaeb Center for Health Research in Tampa, FL.

When a cornea (clear, front part of the eye) is recovered from a donor, a surgeon will transplant it in a recipient within seven days, which has historically been considered the optimum period for transplant. The study is designed to determine whether delaying surgery from 8 to 14 days would impact the quality of the cornea compared to the seven-day period.

“The study will analyze data from 1,300 patients. The implications are tremendous for distributing corneas outside the United States because it is currently believed that performing surgery beyond one week does not ensure the cornea will maintain its highest level of quality. A much greater opportunity for distribution would occur if the study affirms no difference in quality if surgery is performed up to one week later,” Williams said.

The supply of donated corneas nationwide meets current needs – about 40,000 transplants in 2010. But with an aging population and health concerns about the future donor pool, researchers want to ensure the supply can meet an expected growth in demand over the next two to three decades.

Williams, an adjunct instructor for the UAB Department of Ophthalmology, has served as president of AEB for more than 32 years. During this time, the eye bank has ranked each year among the top 10 eye banks in the U.S. in the number of corneas procured, rising as high as second.

A charter member of the Eye Bank Association of America, AEB is a nonprofit charitable organization that was founded in 1969. The Eye Bank’s headquarters is located in Birmingham with regional offices in Huntsville, Mobile and Montgomery. The Eye Bank’s objective is to obtain quality human eye tissue and distribute it to qualified physicians where the need exists anywhere in the world. AEB serves 49 states and 43 countries.

End

CONTACT:
Joseph Beckham  (205) 313-8322
jwbeckham@alabamaeyebank.org

Priscilla Fowler, MD, director of Cornea and External Disease at the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, recently accepted membership to serve on the Global Sight Network (GSN) Medical Advisory Board.

GSN, established four years ago by the Alabama Eye Bank (AEB) in partnership with 32 eye banks nationwide, provides corneas not used for transplants in the United States and preserves them for long-term storage. Among their optical uses are cornea patch grafts and glaucoma shunt surgery.

The Medical Advisory Board (MAB), formed to fulfill states’ requirements to distribute these sight-saving tissues, also provides medical guidance and insight on operations and industry trends to GSN.

“We are so pleased to have Dr. Fowler join us on the MAB. Her knowledge and expertise will add value to our existing well-experienced board. We look forward to drawing from her insights and appreciate her willingness to serve,” Alan Blake, chairman of the MAB, said.

Dr. Fowler received her fellowship in Cornea and External Disease/Refractive Surgery at Wills Eye Institute in Philadelphia, PA, in 2011, her residency in ophthalmology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and transitional internship in the Baptist Health System. Fowler graduated from the University of South Alabama College of Medicine and received a B.A. in biology at the University of Virginia.

End

Try and walk around your house with your eyes shut and no cheating. Seriously, try and make it from one side of your house to the other without sight. Try and make a sandwich. Try to brush your teeth and fix your hair in the morning. Try and take out the garbage to the street corner. What if you have children…try and help them with their homework, you can’t see their smiles, you can’t grill out for their birthdays, you can’t see their smiles light up as they try and pull off the coveted “perfect cannonball” into the pool or the tears from their first heart-break.

The point that I’m hoping to make here is your hope for an emotionally fulfilled life is diminished daily with a constant string of disappointment & regret. I’m not trying to be all dark and doomsday here because I KNOW there are countless numbers of people who live VERY fulfilling lives that are blind. What I’m trying to paint here is a very HONEST perspective for those of us who CAN SEE, of what ONE DAY in the life of someone that CAN NOT is like. Instead of seeing their daughter draped in beauty or their son standing proud and hopeful of a new future at the alter…they are left with darkness and the sounds of the wedding march ringing in their ears to the rhythm of their hope being chipped away at.

These thoughts, however depressing and somber they may be, are a VERY realistic perspective that the families we interact with daily are experiencing and feeling. By visiting our DONATION webpage and registering to be an eye-donor and by your financial contributions, you are helping the Alabama Eye Bank restore hope to a man, a woman, a father or a mother by enhancing their quality of life to enjoy the small pleasures of getting to gaze upon the ones they love and experience memories of smiles gleaming in color and love wrapped in the warm glow of a fire.

Jennifer Y. Li, MD ; Mark A. Terry, MD; Jeffrey Goshe, MD; David Davis-Boozer, MPH; Neda Shamie, MD

Purpose

To evaluate the long-term improvement of visual acuity after Descemet’s stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK) surgery.

Design

Retrospective analysis of a noncomparative, interventional case series.

Participants

One hundred eight patients undergoing DSAEK surgery for Fuchs’ endothelial dystrophy and pseudophakic bullous keratopathy without other ocular comorbidities who completed a full 3-year follow-up period.

Methods

Postoperative best spectacle-corrected visual acuity (BSCVA) was recorded at 6, 12, 24, and 36 months. Improvement in BSCVA between each time point was evaluated using paired-samples t tests. Subanalysis evaluating the percentage of eyes achieving a BSCVA of 20/20, 20/25, 20/30, and 20/40 at each time point was performed.

Main Outcome Measures

Improvement in postoperative BSCVA.

Results

There was a statistically significant trend toward improvement in average BSCVA with time at postoperative month 6 and postoperative years 2 and 3. There were also increasing proportions of eyes reaching vision of 20/20, 20/25, and 20/30 from 6 months to 1 year, 1 year to 2 years, and 2 years to 3 years. The percentage of patients achieving 20/25 BSCVA improved from 36.1% at 6 months to 70.4% at 3 years after surgery. A similar increase in the percentage of patients reaching a BSCVA of 20/20 after DSAEK surgery also was observed from 11.1% at 6 months to approximately 47.2% at 3 years.

Conclusions

There is gradual improvement of visual acuity over time after DSAEK surgery for Fuchs’ endothelial dystrophy and pseudophakic bullous keratopathy in patients without other vision-limiting ocular comorbidities.