MARCH IS EYE DONOR MONTH

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Shelli Dankoff / Media Relations Specialist

David Hearn / Illinois Eye-Bank Watson Gailey

(March 17, 2009) -  With March being Eye Donor month, OSF Saint Francis Medical Center is pleased to be the leading center for eye tissue donations in the Illinois Eye-Bank Watson Gailey service area, which includes approximately two-thirds of the state of Illinois.

The Illinois Eye-Bank and the Illinois Eye-Bank, Watson Gailey are divisions of Midwest Eye-Banks,
a charitable, not-for-profit organization dedicated to the restoration of sight. They recover, evaluate
and distribute human eye tissue for transplantation and research.

In 2008, the Illinois Eye-Bank had approximately 1,000 recipients of eye tissue, with 72 donors at
OSF Saint Francis Medical Center. The cornea is the most frequently transplanted part of the human body, and more than 90 percent of cornea transplants performed in the United States are successful. Anyone can donate eyes. If the corneal tissue is not transplantable, due to age or medical condition, the donation can be considered for research and education.

In addition to helping secure eye tissue for donation, OSF Saint Francis Medical Center has one of its own who has benefited from life-changing cornea transplants. Carol Linett, 6 Sigma Black Belt, underwent two separate cornea transplants in 1994. She had a condition known as kerataconus which caused her vision to deteriorate to the point it was unable to be corrected by glasses or contacts. Carol’s failing eyesight increasingly affected how she lived until a cornea transplant became the only real option to give Carol the vision she needed at the time when she needed it the most – when she was working and active. Carol is forever grateful for the gift from the donor families in their time of grief. Carol would be happy to share her story in an effort to encourage others to sign the donor registry. Please contact Shelli Dankoff in Public Relations to schedule an interview.