[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 4673-4674]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        NATIONAL EYE DONOR MONTH

  Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, March is National Eye Donor Month, an 
opportunity to celebrate the gift of sight, to honor past donors and 
their families, and to raise public awareness regarding the importance 
of eye donation. We in the Senate can help ensure a sufficient supply 
of precious corneas by educating the public about the importance of eye 
donation and encouraging more Americans to become organ donors.
  Last year, more than 46,000 Americans had their lives renewed and 
reinvigorated through the miracle of corneal transplantation. This 
surgical procedure gives those people who have lost, or are losing, 
their vision the life-changing gift of restored sight.
  For more than 30 years, Teresa Walton, an Ohio resident, lived 
without depth perception and with the stigma of an altered appearance, 
because a viral infection stole the vision in her left eye. At the age 
of 15, while most other children were enjoying high school sports and 
anxiously awaiting the day they could earn their driver's license, 
Teresa was unable to recognize when someone approached her from the 
left, nor could she easily navigate a set of stairs.
  Finally, in her forties, Teresa decided it was time for a transplant. 
Because of the transplant she received in Springfield, OH, the vision 
in Teresa's left eye was restored. With the return of her depth 
perception, Teresa can now easily light the candles on her three 
daughters' birthday cakes. She is no longer self-conscious about the 
appearance of her left eye. And as a teacher, she can now recognize 
when one of her students is standing next to her.
  Through the tireless efforts of the eye banks located throughout the 
country, and the coordinated efforts of the Eye Bank Association of 
America, Teresa Walton and thousands upon thousands of Americans like 
her have rediscovered the many joys full vision affords.
  The power of cornea transplantation is evident in Teresa's story, but 
it is only possible if concerned Americans register as an organ donor 
and, subsequently, inform their family members and loved ones of their 
intention to donate.
  That is why, as National Eye Donation Month approaches, I encourage 
my colleagues to work with their local eye banks, and the Eye Bank 
Association of America, to promote eye donation and provide more 
people, like Teresa Walton, with the miracle cornea transplantation 
provides. There is no gift more meaningful, or more profoundly 
important, than the gift of sight.

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