Eversight Illinois Vision Spring 2017 SpringVision_IL_19Apr17_FNL | Page 4
Years
Eversight Illinois
Eversight Illinois is celebrating our 70th anniversary with a look
back at the many people whose deep commitment to our mission
transformed donation and transplantation as we know it today.
1947 1950s 1969
Originally named the Illinois
Eye-Bank, the organization was
the fourth eye bank in the United
States when it was established
at Cook County Hospital as a joint
project between the Chicago
Ophthalmological Society and the
Illinois Society for the Prevention
of Blindness. During the first year 25 eyes were
donated, and only four were
used for transplants in Chicago.
But as the life-changing power of
restored sight became more
widely known, communities began
embracing the idea of eye
donation and transplantation. Dr. Maurice Rabb, a Professor of
Ophthalmology at the University
of Illinois at Chicago, became
the first Illinois Eye-Bank Medical
Director. Dr. Rabb was known
internationally for his pioneering
work in corneal and retinal
vascular diseases.
Resto
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1940s
1950s 1956 1970s
Early leadership was a collaborative
effort between prominent
ophthalmologists, including
Dr. William F. Hughes, one of the
founding fathers of eye banking,
and Dr. Robert Fitzgerald. The Illinois Eye-Bank received
more than 100 eye donations,
and the organization quickly
became a 24/7 operation, hiring
its first full-time employee and
placing volunteers on call to
deliver tissue. This decade brought numerous
advances in transplant technology.
Breakthroughs in cornea storage
media had a major impact on
the availability of corneas for
transplantation, because eye tissue
could be preserved for several
days rather than just a few hours.
Spring 2017 | V I S I O N | Page 4