ANN ARBOR, Mich., Dec. 2, 2020 — Eversight is proud to receive a $50,000 grant from the Edward N. and Della L. Thome Memorial Foundation to further access to sight restoration through cornea transplantation.
When elective surgeries were brought to a halt in spring 2020, Eversight was left to operate on a small fraction of its normal revenues. Determined to spend this time preparing to resume surgeries as soon as restrictions were lifted, Eversight sought funding from the Edward N. and Della L. Thome Memorial Foundation to ensure uninterrupted operations—recognizing the Foundation’s unwavering commitment to the health of older adults, including those affected by failing eyesight.
The Foundation’s support helps to ensure Eversight remains healthy and able to immediately and successfully provide for surgeons and their patients as sight-restoring surgeries resume. Furthermore, this funding supported research to ensure that patients can receive transplants with minimal risk to COVID-19 exposure.
The Edward N. and Della L. Thome Foundation offers financial support to organizations that promote dignified treatment of older adults, as well as medical research on diseases and disorders affecting this population. While the average age of a cornea transplant recipient is 62, Eversight restores sight to people of all ages through transplant, training and ongoing research, allowing thousands of people each year to see their children, grandchildren and loved ones as they grow older.
A grandmother who received the gift of sight through Eversight summed up the importance of her sight-saving surgery.
“This gift has allowed me to see and share in weddings, graduations, birthdays and the birth of my grandchildren. It allows me to reach out and volunteer. It allows me to share ice cream cones with sprinkles late at night with my college-age son. I can read books to my grandchildren, prepare my favorite recipes and read in bed at night. I am so filled with gratitude for what I have been given.”
About Eversight
Eversight is a nonprofit organization with a mission to restore sight and prevent blindness through the healing power of donation, transplantation and research. The Eversight network is responsible for recovering, evaluating and providing human eye tissue for transplantation; supporting research into the causes and cures of blinding eye conditions; promoting donation awareness through public and professional education; and providing humanitarian aid to people around the world in need of corneal transplantation. Operating in Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio and South Korea, Eversight works in collaboration with surgeons, researchers, academic medical centers and eye banks across the United States and abroad. For more information, visit eversightvision.org.
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Mackenzie Mohr
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