Page 3 - LGS Today Newsletter Fall 2021

Eye Banks Work Together to Restore Sight
Lions Gift of Sight was recently given an opportunity to play a role in a medical mission trip to assist the people of Honduras. As an eye bank that is affiliated with Lions Clubs Internation- al, an association that helps local communities and provides humanitarian aid across the world, our eye bank was happy
to participate by donating corneas for sight-saving surgeries.
The Republic of Honduras is a Central American coun-
try with its share of difficulties, healthcare among them. Civilians face crime, conflict, sexual violence, and widespread dengue fever. Many have very limited access to essential health- care. In the past, International Health Care, based in Minne- sota, and Medecins Sans Frontiers / Doctors Without Borders have organized mission trips to help the people of Honduras.
This year, a mission trip was coordinated by Dr. Mark Hansen (corneal specialist) and Dr. Goerlitz-Jessen (corneal fellow) from Minnesota Eye Consultants. They contacted Lions Gift of Sight and asked if we could secure a number of gratis (no-fee)
corneas for their Honduras mission, since Honduras
has no eye bank of its own and must rely on donations from
other countries. Our distribution team duly
A surgical technician holds one of the precious corneas donated for the Hon- duras mission trip.
reached out to eye banks in Oregon, Virginia, and New York and secured 14 corneas for transplants to treat glaucoma, corneal ulcers, and problems after cataract surgery. We arranged for other eye banks to ship directly to Dr. Goerlitz- Jessen’s house, and our distribution manager, Natalie Buckman, personally delivered eight of our own corneas before the team’s departure the Sunday before Memorial Day.
Thanks to this collaborative effort, 18 people received transplants!
Providing medical care in Honduras has its challenges. Record keeping is almost nonexistent. There are no charts with the addresses, dates of birth, or medical conditions of patients. Names (when available) are just written on a whiteboard. Follow-up visits for patients are difficult and, therefore, rare. All of which makes the 18 transplants that were performed a minor miracle.
We salute Drs. Hansen and Goerlitz-Jessen and all healthcare personnel who perform missions to restore sight in areas where there are few resources and limited access to eye care. Lions Gift of Sight is proud to contribute to their humanitarian efforts.
Honduras ophthalmology mission team. Dr. Hansen is kneeling front center, and Dr. Goerlitz-Jessen is standing second from left.
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