OPEN HOUSE:
1 p.m. today
3309 Office Park Drive, Kettering
A newly-renovated eye bank is projected to perform 1,000 corneal transplants this year, a 25 percent increase from procedures performed in 2013, according to officials.
The Lions Eye Bank of West Central Ohio moved into its new location, 3309 Office Park Drive, from its Southtown Boulevard building and will have an open house today to offer guests a tour of the new facility.
The building is 10,000 square feet, more than double the size of the previous location, and features a new lab, a spokeswoman said.
Renovations were funded through local Lions Clubs and transplant partners, according to the organization. Organizers spent $200,000 on renovations, according to documents filed with Kettering’s planning and development department.
When the group first opened the Dayton-area eye bank in 1982, a spokeswoman said 72 corneal transplants were performed, and each year the number increases. In 2013 the organization performed 800 corneal transplants.
As Donate Life and Donate Life Ohio have grown, more people have become registered organ donors, which has increased cornea donation and patient need for corneal transplants, the spokeswoman said.
“My staff and I have worked very hard to bring better vision to our community and the world,” said Angela Burnham, chief executive officer of Lions Eye Bank of West Central Ohio. “We have grown from 350 transplants to over 1,000 in 15 years.”
Three new full-time employees were recently added to the payroll, bringing the total amount of workers to 14.
The cornea is a clear, dome-shaped surface that covers the front, and outermost layer, of the eye, according to the National Eye Institute.
Corneal transplantation is designed to restore vision to patients whose corneas have been damaged through diseases, injuries or infections, according to the Central Ohio Lions Eye Bank.
Statistics from the American Academy of Ophthalmology showed that across the United States 46,196 corneal transplants were performed in 2011.
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