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March is eye donor month LYONS - March is Eye Donation Month, which makes it a perfect time to sign up to be an organ donor. Wayne County Public Health encourages everyone to become donors. The ability to see is often taken for granted. But, what if it were lost? Eye donation can give the gift of vision. President Ronald Reagan proclaimed the first National Eye Donor Month in 1983. Since then, Congress has designated each March as National Eye Donor Month to improve understanding of the need for increased donation. New York state has long been a leader in medicine and in eye donation. The first eye bank opened in New York in 1944. Donated human eyes and corneal tissue are used for research, education and transplantation. Corneal transplants are now one of the most frequently performed human transplant procedures and among the most successful. Since 1961, more than 700,000 corneal transplants have been performed, restoring sight to men, women and children of all ages, from newborns to centenarians. More than 90 percent of all corneal transplant operations succeed in restoring the recipients vision. In fact, there are people alive today still seeing with donated corneas that they received in the 1950s. A single donation can often be used to benefit more than one patient. Each year more donors are needed. Signing a donor card is a good first step, but its just as important for a donor to talk to loved ones and let them know of their wish to donate. Some people still have reservations about the idea of organ donation. No one wants to think about his own mortality. But, eye, tissue and organ donation has been found to be consistent with the beliefs and attitudes of all of the worlds major religions. Almost anyone can be an eye or organ donor. Cataracts, poor eyesight or age do not prevent you from being an eye donor. For more information about eye donation, visit the Eye Bank Association of Americas Web site, http://www.restoresight.org/events/eyedonormonth.htm.
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