MANHASSET, NY – March marks National Eye Donor Awareness Month, a time to focus attention about the importance of making eye donations and giving the gift of sight. Throughout the month, The Lions Eye Bank for Long Island at North Shore University Hospital (NSUH) in Manhasset will offer free education programs at various North Shore-LIJ Health System hospitals to increase public awareness about eye donation.

Last year, over 40,000 corneal transplants were performed in the United States. Since there is no substitute for human tissue, transplantation is dependent on the invaluable donation of corneal tissue from one person to another. Eye tissue is also integral to the research and education of treatments and cures for numerous eye problems that lead to blindness or impaired vision, such as glaucoma, retinal disease or eye complications of diabetes.

“Eye Donor Awareness Month offers a great opportunity for individuals to learn how they can make a difference in the life of someone who may need a sight-restoring corneal transplant,” said Kenneth Manger, program director of the Lions Eye Bank for Long Island at NSUH. “It’s simple to become an eye donor; sign up by visiting our website and enrolling in the New York State Donate Life Organ, Tissue, and Eye Donor Registry.”

Visit the following hospitals for more information about eye donation:

• March 10, 10 a.m. -- 2 p.m.; Syosset Hospital lobby, 221 Jericho Turnpike, Syosset
• March 16, 10 a.m. --2 p.m.; Huntington Hospital lobby, 270 Park Ave., Huntington
• March 28, 10 a.m. -- 2 p.m.; LIJ Medical Center, cafeteria lobby, 270-05 76th Ave, New Hyde Park

Lions Clubs International is the world’s largest service club organization, best known for its mission of fighting blindness by conducting vision screenings, providing equipment for hospitals and clinics, distributing medicine and raising awareness of eye disease. Established in 1986, the Lions Eye Bank for Long Island at NSUH serves Nassau and Suffolk counties, as well as Brooklyn and Queens, by providing superior quality ocular tissue for corneal transplants.

For more information about the gift of sight and the Lions Eye Bank’s sight restoration programs call (516) 465-8430 or visit their website at www.lebli.org.

Contact: Betty Olt
516-465-2645
bolt@nshs.edu