Eye bank

Eye banks retrieve and store eyes for cornea transplants and research. The first eye bank was founded in 1944. Currently, in the United States, eye banks provide tissue for about 46,000 cornea transplants each year to treat conditions such as and corneal scarring. In some cases, the white of the eye (sclera) is used to surgically repair recipient eyes. Unlike other organs and tissues, there is an adequate supply of corneas for transplants in the United States, and excess tissue is exported internationally, however, there is a shortage of corneal tissue internationally.

In 1944, the first eye bank was founded in New York City by two physicians, Dr. Townley Paton and Dr. John MacLean.

"Recovery" refers to the retrieval of organs or tissues from a deceased organ donor. Recovery is currently the preferred term, although "harvesting" and "procurement" have been used in the past, they are considered inappropriate, harsh, and potentially inaccurate.

When an organ/tissue donor dies, consent for donation is obtained either from a donor registry or from the donor's next of kin. A recovery technician is then dispatched to the hospital, funeral home, or medical examiner's office to recover the donor's eyes. The recovery occurs within hours of the death of the donor. The entire eye, called the globe, may be surgically removed (enucleated), or only the cornea may be excised in-situ and placed in storage media. There is a wide variety of storage media used in eye banking. Commercial preparations as well as organ culture medium can preserve corneas. The eye tissue is then transported to the eye bank for processing.

A sample of the donor's blood is also collected to test for infectious diseases such as HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, human cytomegalovirus, syphilis, and sometimes others. The blood type is also tested, although corneas do not receive any blood supply and match typing is not necessary for transplantation.

...
Wikipedia