Florida Lions Eye Bank

In The News

FLEB Awarded Accreditation from the Eye Bank Association of America

The Florida Lions Eye Bank recently passed the required inspections to achieve accreditation from the Eye Bank Association of America (EBAA). The accreditation process required months of preparation and adjustments by the FLEB staff. The Florida Lions Eye Bank joins 80 eye banks accredited in the U.S. and seven international eye banks accredited by the EBAA, which focuses on setting standards, education and advocacy.

"We are proud to be a part of the EBAA and to have been awarded accreditation," said Executive Director Elizabeth Fout Caraza. "Our staff worked tirelessly to ensure all standards were met."

The Eye Bank Association of America (EBAA) accredits facilities that provide human eye tissue for surgical use, research and ophthalmic training. The EBAA has developed extensive medical standards (MS) and procedures for procurement, preservation, storage and distribution of human eye tissue for transplantation and research, as well as an on-site inspection program to accredit eye banks. This inspection program was developed to ensure consistently acceptable evaluation of eye banks.

Bonita Springs Lions Fund New Equipment

Thanks to a generous donation by the Bonita Springs Lions Club, the Florida Lions Eye Bank will be able to increase the number of corneal patches available to treat patients undergoing glaucoma tube shunt surgery.The Horizon DSAEK system, which was purchased with the monies, allows the eye bank to slice each donor cornea in half resulting in a thin cornea button and a thin corneal bed. These two pieces are each then cut in half, resulting in four corneal pieces that can be preserved in glycerin and then used for glaucoma surgery. Previously, each donor cornea preserved in glycerin would result in two pieces cut in half and those then had to be thinned out in the operating room by the surgeon. Essentially, this new equipment allows FLEB to double the amount of tissue available while eliminating wasted tissue and saving time in the operating room. A special thanks to the Bonita Springs Lions Club for making this new innovative technique possible!

Welcome

The Florida Lions Eye Bank was established in1962 as a non-profit organization to provide donor eye tissue to ophthalmologists for corneal transplantation. Since then, nearly 40,000 people have received this precious Gift of Sight. The Eye Bank also maintains a highly regarded pathology laboratory for studying eye disease and also provides resources and tissue for teaching and research.

Spotlight

Lecture Series, Oct 24

Sander Dubovy, M.D. is an Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology and Pathology and a fulltime retina specialist at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute. Dr. Dubovy also serves as medical director of the Florida Lions Eye Bank. Dr. Dubovy graduated from the University of Virginia and the New York University School of Medicine and was drawn to the field of eye pathology early in his ophthalmic residency training at the University of Chicago. After completing a fellowship in ophthalmic pathology at the Wilmer Eye Institute, he served a two year residency in anatomic pathology at the Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons. During his pathology residency Dubovy served as a special fellow in the department of ophthalmic pathology at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Washington. Dubovy completed his training abroad, spending a year at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London. There he trained under Bascom Palmer alumnus Alan Bird, M.D., an internationally recognized expert in inherited retinal degeneration and degenerative eye disease.

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