Eversight is the sole eye bank serving northeast Ohio and proudly partners with Lifebanc, Lions Clubs, surgeons, businesses and philanthropists throughout the region to advance our mission.
Before Eversight became the eye bank serving Northeast Ohio, the Cleveland Eye Bank, founded in 1964, served Ohioans for decades until it merged with Eversight in 2012, helping to create one of the largest networks of eye banks in the United States; Eversight.
In 2023, we had the honor of working with the families of 881 Ohio residents who gave the gift of sight for transplantation, research and education as cornea donors. 673 Ohioans received sight-restoring transplants as a result of these selfless acts.
We serve northeast Ohio residents and surgeons through tissue donation and recovery, laboratory evaluation, and preparation for transplantation and research. Our team is also active in community and philanthropic outreach with our partners to advance our mission. We travel the state presenting to Lions groups about potential partnership opportunities and participate in local campaigns to educate the public about the critical importance of donor registration.
Lifebanc
Serving as northeast Ohio’s only nonprofit organ and tissue recovery organization, Lifebanc began more than 35 years ago as one of the original seven independent organ procurement organizations in the United States. Lifebanc is a leader in the field and is a highly respected recovery organization nationally and regionally. Lifebanc serves over four million people and works with 80 hospitals in a 20-county area of Northeast Ohio.
Through our partnership with Lifebanc, we have developed the systems, staffing and processes that allow us to better serve all organ, eye and tissue donors, families and recipients in northeast Ohio and beyond.
Eversight Center for Vision and Eye Banking Research
Our Ohio office is home to the Eversight Center for Vision and Eye Banking Research, driving advancements in eye banking and ophthalmic disease therapies through basic science, translational and clinical research, including projects in partnership with leading institutions such as the Cleveland Clinic Cole Eye Institute, University Hospitals Eye Institute and Case Western Reserve University.
Eversight has a long-standing commitment to ocular research. For more than 75 years, Eversight has provided precious post-mortem tissue to researchers investigating eye and vision diseases. In 2022, Eversight distributed 3,238 tissues for research worldwide.
In 2020, we were awarded the Eye Bank Association of America’s Targeted Research Grant to investigate COVID-19 testing of potential eye tissue donors and how COVID-19 infection affects the safety of eye tissues donated for sight-restoring transplants. Results from this study showed a small but noteworthy prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in ocular tissues from individuals who died from COVID-19. This study was published in the prestigious The Ocular Surface journal, Cornea journal and earned Eversight recognition in Newsweek. Our publication helped improve the donor screening process, post-mortem COVID-19 testing and disinfection protocol at the time of tissue recovery to ensure safety to corneal transplant recipients.
Join us today!
Support our mission by getting involved. Join the registry, make a financial contribution, shop our store or volunteer your time with Eversight. Reach out to our Philanthropy team with any questions or to learn more about our work at philanthropy@eversightvision.org.
You can make a contribution by giving online or mailing a check to our secure lockbox at the address below. Please make checks payable to Eversight.
Eversight
P.O. Box 778801
Chicago, IL 60677-8801
