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Eye Bank of BC gives another look on life
In 2024, Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) facilitated 54 eye donations, giving the gift of sight to 82 people through corneal transplants and 60 people through surgery utilizing sclera grafts, the white portion of the eye.
The work is conducted by the Eye Bank of BC, a provincial referral centre located on the Vancouver General Hospital campus, which provides eye tissues for transplant, education and research.
This achievement is made possible through the generosity of donors and their families, as well as VCH staff and medical staff who offered patients and their families the opportunity to consider eye donation and who made program referrals.
Still, there is a need for awareness of the Eye Bank program, as there are more than 400 British Columbians awaiting corneal transplants.
Lisa Plumb, Clinical Nurse Educator works in North Vancouver at Lions Gate Hospital on unit 7W and the neighbouring North Shore Hospice. She has been one of the VCH champions for eye donation. "I make it a priority to bring eye donation into the conversation as early as possible to allow for questions so that patients and their decision-makers can discuss if this option would align with their wishes," Lisa says.
Clinical Nurse Educator Tammy Wu works in the intensive care unit (ICU) at Vancouver General Hospital. She and her team's efforts and involvement have been pivotal to the increased number of eye donations from the unit. "Our team focus is always about our patients, fulfilling the generous donors' wishes to give to others and the recipients' wish to see again and have a better quality of life. This helps us to achieve a higher quantity of calls."
Eye Bank Donor Development Liaison Shannon Leonard explains that people up to 75 years of age may be eligible to eye donation after they have passed away in a palliative setting, hospice, acute care setting or even at home.
To help the 500+ people in B.C. currently awaiting corneal transplants report the death of every patient 75 years and younger to the Donor Referral Line at 1-877-366-6722.
For more information, visit http://eyebankofbc.ca.
View Transplant Stories for free
You can watch the Eye Bank team in action on Thursday nights on Knowledge Network from April 3 to April 24. Free to stream on knowledge.ca
