[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 42 (Wednesday, March 12, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S1994]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        NATIONAL EYE DONOR MONTH

  Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, March is National Eye Donor Month. In fact, 
it's the 25th anniversary of that proud tradition.
  Each March since 1983, the eye donor community has gathered to 
celebrate the gift of sight, to honor past donors and their families, 
and to raise awareness about eye donation.
  I want to thank those who have given this amazing gift and to 
encourage more Americans to become eye donors.
  Eye donation is an incredible thing. Precious corneas harvested from 
donated eyes can restore vision that's been lost to disease or injury 
or infection. Most of us take our vision for granted.
  We read our books, watch our children grow, and find our loved ones 
in a crowded room--and don't give it a second thought. But what if you 
lost that ability, that gift of sight--or never had it at all. An 
estimated 11.4 million people have severe visual problems that are not 
correctable by glasses.
  Eighty million people suffer from potentially blinding eye disease; 
1.1 million people are legally blind. But there is hope. Through the 
miracle of transplantation, it is possible to restore sight.
  Each year, 44,000 sight-restoring corneal transplants are performed.
  Eye banks like the Central Ohio Lions Eye Bank change people's lives. 
Shirley Jacobs knows this first hand. Shirley was living with Fuchs 
dystrophy, a genetic degenerative corneal disease. The disease robbed 
her of clear vision. It limited her independence and her ability to do 
her job. Then she received a corneal transplant at the Central Ohio 
Lions Eye Bank. Her first words after the surgery were, ``This is a 
miracle! I can see you, I can see you!''
  That is amazing. But so many more people are waiting.
  In Ohio alone, 1,600 people each year could have their sight restored 
through corneal transplants. But there aren't enough organs available. 
We need to get the word out and reach people who would donate if given 
the choice. We must raise public awareness of the need for eye donors 
and the ways to sign up.
  I encourage my colleagues to work with their local eye banks and the 
Eye Bank Association of America to promote the precious gift of eye 
donation. I also encourage Americans to consider designating themselves 
as organ donors on their driver's licenses. It is the best way to make 
your end-of-life wishes known and to give the gift of sight. I urge my 
colleagues and fellow citizens to consider becoming an eye donor. 
Thousands of people around the country are waiting for it.

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