[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 40 (Tuesday, March 19, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E327]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        NATIONAL EYE DONOR MONTH

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                           HON. ALAN NUNNELEE

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 19, 2013

  Mr. NUNNELEE. Mr. Speaker, over 1,000,000 people have had their sight 
restored since the Eye Bank Association of America was created in 1961. 
Since 1983, each March has been designated as National Eye Donor Month. 
As a recipient of two corneal transplants, I am honored to participate 
this year.
   In high school I was diagnosed with keratoconus, a degenerative 
disease of the cornea. From then and through much of my college life, I 
lived with the belief that I would one day lose my eyesight. As a 
junior in college, I was told I was potentially a good candidate for 
cornea replacement surgery. On April 25, 1980, I had my first surgery 
and the results were almost instantaneous. Two years later, I had 
another, equally successful transplant procedure on my other eye. I 
live every day with the knowledge that not only was my vision saved, it 
took tremendous strength and compassion on the part of two families to 
make it possible.
   With corneas, the doctors are not concerned with matching by blood 
type, but they need to match by age. The reason is simple: the cornea 
does not need to wear out before the recipient does. So two families 
who lost a son, daughter, husband, or wife in their teens-to-mid-
twenties made a decision under the worst of circumstances, and donated 
their loved ones corneas so that a stranger might see.
   I encourage all Americans to register to become eye donors and 
inform your families of your wishes.
   I urge my colleagues to work with their local eye banks and the EBAA 
to promote eye donation and its life enhancing effects on corneal 
recipients.
   During this month, let us remember the donors and their families who 
have forever changed so many lives, including my own, for the better.

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