And for Dr. John Richards, medical director of B.C.'s Eye Bank, the frustrating thing about the cornea transplant waiting list is that it's unnecessary. I wish I knew what we could do to increase donations.
Nothing seems to have worked so far.
We're trying to increase the numbers. We've talked to hospital nurses and doctors trying to educate them about cornea donations. But the public is more geared to solid organs - they don't think about tissue, skin, bones and eyes. Most B.C. patients wait six months to a year for a cornea transplant, but those with limited vision often drop down the list as more urgent cases leap ahead. The eye bank receives only 500 cornea donations a year and performs 550 transplants annually.