Celebrating Our “Community of Compassion” During Eye Donation Month
Adapting to the COVID-19 pandemic, SightLife will honor donor families virtually on November 12
SightLife will again celebrate National Eye Donation Month (EDM) in honor of our passionate community of partners who help empower hope and healing through the gift of sight. From cornea donor families and transplant surgeons to hospitals, nurses, medical examiners, coroners, funeral home directors, and eye bank personnel – each of our partners plays a key role in the donation and recovery of more than 85,000 corneas annually by SightLife and other eye banks in the U.S. By working together, we ensure the opportunities that sight affords are within reach for those suffering needlessly in the dark.
Importantly, sight restoration can also renew hope for many cornea donor families, who often describe the act of donation as a light on their darkest day – after the loss of a loved one. Such thoughtful courage is nothing short of remarkable, especially in the raw early days of grief.
It’s just one of the many reasons why donor families hold a special place in our hearts.
Join Us in Community
This year, SightLife will host a live virtual event on November 12 to celebrate our donor families and the legacy of their loved ones, who gave selflessly so others could see. The event is one of our most meaningful convenings of the year, providing donor families and SightLife the opportunity to come together and pay tribute through special remembrances and moments of reflection. Donor families will also learn more about SightLife’s mission and the transformative impact of tissue donation. We welcome anyone involved in the donation process to join the festivities. Register today.
Additional ways to honor and participate in Eye Donation Month include:
- Registering to be a donor – the process takes no more than two minutes at RegisterMe.org.
- Starting the conversation with your loved ones – when you share your wishes to be an eye donor, you empower your family to say “yes” on your behalf and amid the pain of grief.
- Joining the movement – mobilize resources to help accelerate our mission by participating in the ZEISS, Ophthalmic World Leaders, and SightLife Mission in Motion Three-Day Challenge.
- Spreading the word – if you’re reading this blog, you are connecting with this cause, so we urge you share your story and educate even more people about the importance of cornea donation.
Our Community of Compassion Fuels Our Mission
As SightLife and our partners collectively celebrate this November, we also want to acknowledge that the global need is vast and growing – more than 12.7 million people globally suffer from corneal blindness. Each year, an additional 1.5 million people experience eye trauma that can lead to corneal blindness. As the leading nonprofit global health organization dedicated to eliminating corneal blindness, we thank our entire Community of Compassion for your support through the years, especially as we forge news ways of connecting and staying healthy during the global pandemic.