Τhe Hellenic Eye Bank Demokritos "Γρηγόρης Γεωργαρίου" (HEBD) is an independent start-up, spin-off, non profit organisation within the National Center for Scientific Research "Demokritos" that aims to recover, process, evaluate, and distribute ocular tissue for transplantation and to promote cutting-edge corneal research. Our goal is to become the largest Eye Bank provider in Southeastern Europe and to introduce unique solutions to eye-banking and corneal transplantation worldwide. The HEBD is determined to pursue the obvious: To suggest the way and perform what is necessary to cover the national need for corneal tissue locally. Within two years of operation, the HEBD will decrease imported tissue demand by 95% and, thus, cut the direct cost to the National Healthcare System by 50%. Within 5 years, the HEBD will be one of the 10 largest Eye Banks in Europe. The HEBD has three primary goals:
1. To design and implement along with the Hellenic Transplantation Organization a validated system to provide fresh cadaveric eye tissue to the new Eye Bank. All previous attempts at Eye Banking in Greece have consistently failed because corneal tissue for transplantation was only sought from multi-organ “heart beating-brain dead” patients that donate their heart, lungs, kidneys, etc., and these do not exceed 50 per year.
2. Establish an Eye Bank that will be equipped to handle over 1000 grafts a year. We have already established a collaboration with the Amnitrans Eye Bank of Rotterdam to achieve the required expertise in the “organ culture” approach to corneal preservation. This method has two essential advantages over the traditional hypothermic storage method: a/ Longer preservation time by at least 15 days which ensures allocation and distribution of the grafts to surgical facilities both in Greece and abroad without compromising the quality of the tissue, and b/ Unique opportunities for translational research in the field such as ex vivo tissue expansion, limbal stem cell manipulation, and endothelial cell culture.
3. Establish a fruitful collaboration between the Eye Bank and the Institute of Biosciences Demokritos for multi-disciplinary research projects. Through Demokritos, we plan to design and implement novel and refined cornea Eye Bank products that may have a direct impact in the way cornea surgeons perform transplantation surgery in the near future; four of them have already been submitted for patenting.
