Patients in Kumamoto, Japan often wait four to five years for a cornea transplant. One surgeon is working to change that.
This fall, Eversight and the University of Pittsburg Medical Center (UPMC) welcomed Dr. Yuki Kusano—the Kumamoto region’s only corneal surgeon—to the United States for training designed to expand access to sight-restoring care in his community.
Dr. Kusano recently completed a three-month global fellowship at UPMC under the mentorship of Vishal Jhanji, MD, co-sponsored by Eversight and UPMC. His visit to Eversight’s Ann Arbor headquarters marked the culmination of that fellowship and reflects a shared commitment to strengthening global eye banking and building capacity for sight restoration around the world.
A vital role in Japan’s vision care landscape
Serving the Kumamoto metropolitan area of nearly one million people, Dr. Kusano performs about 50 transplants each year and leads the local eye bank, where he is affiliated with Kumamoto University and Kumamoto Shinto General Hospital. Dr. Kusano personally recovers tissue from approximately 10 local donors each year and performs all evaluations on these and imported tissues.
But because of a severe shortage of donated corneal tissue, many patients wait years for a life-changing transplant. Japan also lacks a centralized donor registry, meaning families must contact the eye bank directly to initiate donation, making public awareness and streamlined systems essential to improving access.
Dr. Kusano is working to expand local recovery capacity by training additional physicians within Japan’s legal framework. He also hopes to increase community understanding of the impact of cornea donation, so more families feel empowered to say “yes.”
“He’s not only advancing surgical care in his community, but also creating the foundation for sustainable eye banking in a region that urgently needs it,” said Heather Nuskind, EdD, Global Development & Surgical Innovations Director, Eversight.
This underscores the importance of public education and streamlined systems that are required to make vision a reality at scale.
Training, education & collaboration
During his two-day visit, Dr. Kusano trained alongside the Eversight team to gain new technical and operational insights.
- Vice President of Global Development Collin Ross shared an overview of eye banking in the United States and Eversight’s history of innovation.
- Tissue Processing Director Nicholas Hicks and his team provided hands-on training in Descemet’s membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) tissue processing.
- Senior Partner Development Director Michael Szkarlat introduced Eversight’s advanced product offerings, including KeraNatural™ for treating keratoconus and KLAL-Pro for treating limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD).
In addition to learning new surgical and technical skills, Dr. Kusano expressed interest in developing stronger training opportunities for residents in Kumamoto. He hopes to establish a local wet lab program that would give trainees hands-on experience with corneal tissue, filling a current gap in their education and helping build future capacity in corneal care.
He also outlined plans to expand training within the Kumamoto Eye Bank, especially as he works to introduce a more proactive donor identification model in local hospitals. Strengthening staff skills in areas such as donor assessment and tissue evaluation will be essential as the eye bank increases its donor pool and transplantation volume.
Strengthening global partnerships
The training was a tremendous success. Dr. Kusano described it as a pivotal step in his mission to improve corneal care in Kumamoto. Eversight and UPMC will continue supporting his efforts through ongoing collaboration, technical guidance and future training exchanges.
“As we connect with eye bank leaders around the world, our goal isn’t just to share skills—it’s to build sustainable systems of care,” Nuskind said. “When one surgeon gains the tools to restore sight for hundreds of people, the impact reaches far beyond one community. That’s what makes this work so meaningful.”
By equipping local clinicians and eye bank personnel with new tools and knowledge, this collaboration helps advance sustainable improvements in access to sight-restoring care in Kumamoto.
Together with partners like UPMC, Eversight is building a world where everyone, everywhere, can access the gift of sight.
How you can help
Your social and financial support powers training, quality systems and advocacy so more people in Japan and beyond can receive corneal transplants.
- Give today to fund sight-saving training and technology to further educate clinicians around the world
- Work with us if you’re a hospital, NGO or academic institution interested in building sustainable eye banking capacity
