Sight Source & ICF
A New Year, A New Collaborative Partnership

St. Joseph, MO & Baltimore, MD, January 1st, 2018

Sight Source and International Cornea Foundation are pleased to announce their recently established partnership. This innovative arrangement was created by the two organizations as they were seeking a way to collaboratively give back and further advance the eye banking industry through the donation and transplantation of ocular tissue.

With a mission to “Enhance lives through new eyes”, and conveniently located in the Midwest, Sight Source partners with industry leading eye banks around the country to provide high-quality ocular tissue to both surgeons and researchers working to give people a second chance at sight. Established only after identifying the need to consistently provide a higher level of service, convenience and overall support to those in the corneal transplant industry, Sight Source considers their clients to be partners, rather than customers. This stems from the idea that without a reliable partner (tissue provider), surgeons are not able to provide the best service possible to their patients. Sight Source understands that the service and products provided will directly affect the practice and patients as well as the overall transplant experience; which is why they strive to be considered a partner or an extension of the surgeon’s practice as opposed to simply ‘another tissue provider.’

International Cornea Foundation was born out of a need to provide long-term surgical training and on-going support to surgeons in the developing world that want to establish local corneal transplant programs in their home country. To support these efforts, International Cornea Foundation provides scholarships to surgeons to travel to the United States to learn new techniques of corneal transplant, cataract, and anterior segment surgery necessary to better support their newly established local programs. Upon returning to their home country, the newly trained surgeon works alongside Sight Source partner surgeons to assist in the continuing education component of International Cornea Foundation. Dr. Sudeep Pramanik, founder of International Cornea Foundation explains that, “By providing a continuity of surgical training and supervision to international surgeons, we can better transfer surgical skills and build local long-term solutions to avoidable blindness.”

In an industry that has experienced many changes in recent years, Sight Source and International Cornea Foundation are excited to provide a unique opportunity unlike any of its kind by which corneal surgeons can earn an “experience” of their choice simply by their continued efforts of restoring sight through corneal transplantation. “Having the opportunity to work in an industry that every day changes the lives of people around the world for the better is beyond rewarding. We are extremely lucky and beyond thankful to not only work alongside such dedicated professionals but to have the ability to help them by being able to provide the resources and funding necessary to continue making advancements within our shared industry.” said Sight Source Executive Director, Josie Foster.

Advancements will be realized through a variety of research and development projects in addition to specific ‘experiences’ chosen by the surgeon that will either provide the opportunity for continued education, encourage further eye banking involvement or give back to those less fortunate through International mission work.

To learn more about this partnership, to request ocular tissue for transplant/research use or to donate to ICF, please contact us.