In December 2025, ophthalmologist Marcus Muallem, MD, traveled to Jerusalem, Israel, where he performed sight-restoring corneal transplants for 11 patients who had been waiting not weeks or months—but years—for care.
This effort, made possible through Eversight’s global aid program and in collaboration with St. John Eye Hospital, brought both renewed vision and hope to patients in need.
For Dr. Muallem, this was more than a medical service trip. It was deeply personal.
“I want to stay humble about this,” he said. “It's been an experience for them and for everybody involved—an experience of a lifetime.”
“I was born and raised in Israel,” Dr. Muallem said. “I went to medical school and did my residency there. There is a tremendous need for eye care where I come from.”
Though his career has flourished in the United States, where access to corneal tissue and advanced surgical techniques is readily available, the realities in Jerusalem—especially in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, where access to care is significantly limited—are vastly different.
“In the U.S., we’re spoiled in the best way,” he said. “We can schedule surgeries. We have access to high-quality donor tissue and great customer service if needed. None of that exists there.”
In many cases, patients wait years for a transplant. Even when tissue becomes available, barriers like travel restrictions, limited resources and lack of infrastructure make care difficult to access—if not impossible.
That reality stayed with him.
“I always knew I wanted to give back,” he said. “And I wanted to start there.”
Dr. Muallem described his trip as transformative—even for someone who grew up in the region.
“I didn’t realize how limited care really was,” he said. “Seeing patients wait three, four, five years with opaque corneas—it changes you.”
One patient, a practicing physician, had waited three years after a routine cataract surgery left him with corneal edema, swelling in the cornea that can happen after an injury or an infection.
“He kept working, kept going, but he was waiting all that time for a transplant,” Dr. Muallem said. “That’s the reality there.”
Even the logistics surrounding care were sobering. Patients traveling from the West Bank required special permits to enter East Jerusalem, where St. John Eye Hospital is located. When donor tissue shipments were delayed, many patients had to remain at the hospital for days—unable to return home without risking their chance at surgery.
“They stayed for five days, just waiting,” he said. “And after surgery, many couldn’t even come back for follow-up appointments.”
At St. John Eye Hospital—the only charitable provider of expert eye care in the region—Dr. Muallem and the local team worked tirelessly to meet the overwhelming need.
Over the course of a single 14-hour day, the team performed 11 cornea transplant procedures, including one full transplant for a 2-year-old child with a perforated cornea.
“No one complained. No one slowed down,” he said. “Everyone was fully committed because they knew how long these patients had been waiting.”
In his nearly 20-year career in ophthalmology, Dr. Muallem says this was one of the most meaningful things he has ever done.
“For these patients, it was a miracle to have a chance at regaining their vision through the generous donation of eleven processed corneal tissues by Eversight,” he said.
For Dr. Muallem, meeting the patients face-to-face left a lasting impression.
“It felt like they were meeting someone sent from above,” he said. “They had almost lost hope that their vision would ever come back.”
One patient, upon learning he would need to wait longer due to limited tissue availability, became emotional.
“He almost went into tears,” Dr. Muallem recalled. “We promised him—we’ll come back.”
Even for those who received surgery, the impact was incredible—though not always immediate. Because of the nature of the procedures, patients couldn’t see clearly the same day, but what they did gain was something just as important: belief.
“They were hopeful again. That’s everything,” he said.
In the days following the surgeries, Dr. Muallem stayed in close contact with local surgeons, who shared updates as patients began to regain their sight.
“One of the corneal surgeons said to me that everybody here is praying for you because of what you've done. So that meant to me that they were doing very well, and they saw the miracle of sight coming back already,” he said.
At the heart of this work was a critical partnership with organizations and people across borders who want to see sight restored to those in need.
“Eversight made this possible,” Dr. Muallem said. “The quality of the tissue, the responsiveness, the generosity—it’s unmatched. This is exactly the mission of Eversight—to take something that starts here and transform lives 7,000 miles away.”
Beyond the surgeries themselves, the trip has already sparked conversations about future collaboration, including the potential to expand access to corneal tissue in the region and strengthen relationships between providers.
“It’s becoming a brotherhood,” Dr. Muallem said. “They’re an extension of what we do here.”
The impact of this trip is still unfolding. Patients are regaining their sight; surgeons are building new connections, and plans are already in motion to return—bringing care to even more people who are still waiting.
“I feel privileged to do this,” Dr. Muallem said. “It’s better than anything I’ve done in my career.”
And for the patients whose lives were changed, the gift of sight—made possible by generous donors and the partnership with Eversight—means everything.
“They now know they’re not forgotten,” he said. “That someone is working to help them. That there is hope.”
Because of the selfless decisions of 11 donors and their families, 11 lives were forever transformed— connecting people across more than 7,000 miles through the healing power of sight.
Through Eversight’s global aid programs, donated corneal tissue provides patients with access to life-changing care—often after years of waiting.
Give today to help bring sight, independence and hope to those who need it most.