Mid-America Transplant and the Lions Eye Institute for Transplant & Research (LEITR) are excited to announce a strategic partnership that will expand innovations to provide more patients the Gift of Sight. This is a first of its kind partnership for Mid-America Transplant and will build a close collaboration between Mid-America Transplant’s Eye Bank and LEITR, the world’s largest combined nonprofit provider of ocular tissues for transplant and ocular science research.
“We have a commitment to our donors and their families to honor their gift, and part of that means using the most advanced techniques, so cornea transplants are most successful,” said Diane Brockmeier, President and CEO of Mid-America Transplant. “LEITR is truly leading the way in ocular tissue technologies, and we look forward to this unique partnership to ensure insights and innovations provide patients in our region and beyond the ability to see all the moments that make life special.”
Through this new partnership, LEITR will share existing and future clinical developments and training that support cornea transplantation and improve clinical outcomes, as well as maximize distribution domestically and internationally. In exchange, Mid-America Transplant’s Eye Bank will partner with LEITR to process tissues utilizing the latest techniques and provide LEITR corneas for transplant. Together, they will promote the most advanced technologies in ocular tissue processing for ophthalmologists and their patients in the U.S. and across the globe.
“The Lions Eye Institute’s vision is simple – to help others see. Our mission is to improve visual outcomes and quality of life for those who are blind or visually impaired through innovative ocular endeavors,” said Jason Woody, President and CEO of Lions Eye Institute. “Mid-America Transplant is one of the premier organ, tissue and eye bank operations in the country and our partnership will enable both organizations to more readily fulfill both our missions.”
About Lions Eye Institute for Transplant and Research
The Lions Eye Institute for Transplant & Research, Inc., (LEITR) is a nonprofit, charitable organization dedicated to the recovery, evaluation and distribution of eye tissue for transplantation, research and education. LEITR’s Eye Bank, located in Tampa, Fla., is one of the largest combined eye bank and ocular research centers in the world. Since its inception, it has brought the “Gift of Sight” to more than 130,000 men, women and children worldwide. For more information, visit www.lionseyeinstitute.org.
About Mid-America Transplant
Mid-America Transplant enables adults and children to receive lifesaving gifts through organ and tissue donations. For more than 40 years, it has facilitated and coordinated organ, tissue, and eye donation, and now serves 84 counties covering eastern Missouri, southern Illinois and northeast Arkansas that together are home to 4.7 million people. It saves lives by providing expert and compassionate care for organ donors, recipients and families, and transforms the clinical processes required to recover and transplant organs and tissues. Mid-America Transplant was the first such organization in the U.S. to use an in-house operating room for organ recovery and pioneered innovative models of increasing donor registry enrollment in an effort to provide organs and tissues to those in need. It is federally designated as one of 58 such organizations in the U.S., and is the first organ procurement organization to be recognized as a recipient of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for Performance Excellence. For more information, visit www.midamericatransplant.org.