Become an organ donor and bring sight to others


By Ginna Young
The original purpose of the Lions, was to provide sight to those who needed it and that remains a large part of what Lions International is all about. Yes, clubs conduct vision screenings for youth in public schools and collect used eye glasses to repurpose, but it goes far beyond that.
Did you know that there is a Lions Eye Bank of Wisconsin on the south side of Madison? Last year, the Lions owned and operated center had 1,158 donors of corneas, which are taken from organ donors after they pass away.
“They don’t take the whole eye anymore,” said Jim Falls Lion Larry Bradley.
There are over 2,000 transporters, across 417 clubs in the state. For Bradley, when on-call, he usually picks up corneas at a hospital in Eau Claire, he transports to Tomah, then they are taken to the eye bank.
“We have about a 12-hour time, after we get the call, to get those corneas into Madison,” he said, adding that corneas come from other parts of the state, as well. “It’s kind of like the Pony Express. And, it’s been working very well.”
Transporters now have to be certified to deliver corneas. Previously, hospitals tried to send the corneas with the state patrol, but it cost a lot of money and wasn’t reliable.
If a cornea is not viable for a transplant, they can still be used in research. If they are viable, candidates receive them across the United States and globally.
“We always take care of Wisconsin first,” said Bradley. Bradley knows that when someone passes away, whether from sickness, old age or an accident of some kind, it’s very hard on the family, but if the person is an organ donor, it can bring some measure of comfort.
“It’s a positive situation out of a bad situation,” he said. “It helps a lot of people.”