Iowa Lions Eye Bank

Iowa Lions Eye Bank Our mission is to enhance the quality of life through the restoration and preservation of sight.

The Iowa Lions Eye Bank proudly operates as a non-profit, community- based organization, serving 3 million people in Iowa as a vital link between donors and cornea recipients. We are an innovative leader as the only eye bank in the nation to provide all eight tissue preparation services to surgeons locally, nationally and internationally. We diligently serve to honor the memory of donors who have

generously given the "Gift of Sight" and pay tribute to donor families who had the strength and courage to make or support the decision to donate at a very difficult time in their lives.

Two of our University of Iowa Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences residents, Dr. Patrick Donegan and Dr. Noo...
06/24/2026

Two of our University of Iowa Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences residents, Dr. Patrick Donegan and Dr. Noor-Us-Sabah Ahmad, visited the eye bank this week to learn more about how we restore and preserve sight. Thank you for coming!

Hey, do you have MyChart? 🩺Did you know you can sign up as an eye, organ and tissue donor in your MyChart app? 📱Accordin...
06/15/2026

Hey, do you have MyChart? 🩺

Did you know you can sign up as an eye, organ and tissue donor in your MyChart app? 📱

According to recent statistics:
☑️More than 400 patients at Mary Greeley Medical Center have registered via MyChart
☑️More than 200 patients at Mercy Cedar Rapids gave registered via MyChart
☑️Nearly 6,000 patients at UnityPoint Health hospitals have registered via MyChart
☑️Nearly 2,500 patients at University of Iowa Health Care have registered via MyChart

Let your friends know they can sign up in MyChart, and lets continue to be known for "Iowa Nice" by giving the gift of life and sight!

We are thrilled to share that Eli Monshon, BS, a third-year medical student at the Carver College of Medicine received t...
06/11/2026

We are thrilled to share that Eli Monshon, BS, a third-year medical student at the Carver College of Medicine received the 2026 Best Paper of Session Award from the Eye Bank Association of America for "Mitochondrial Responses to Hyperglycemia and Insulin Rescue in Human Corneal Endothelium." The paper was presented during the EBAA's annual meeting last week in Indianapolis.

Monshon conducts his research in the laboratory of our medical director, Dr. Mark Greiner of the University of Iowa Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences.

Congratulations Eli!

Please join us in congratulating our executive director, Esther Baker, on being elected to the Board of Directors of the...
06/10/2026

Please join us in congratulating our executive director, Esther Baker, on being elected to the Board of Directors of the Eye Bank Association of America as Speaker of the House of Delegates!

Hawkeyes to the Hoosier State! 🌽🏎️Several of our staff members had a wonderful time sharing best practices and learning ...
06/09/2026

Hawkeyes to the Hoosier State! 🌽🏎️

Several of our staff members had a wonderful time sharing best practices and learning from colleagues at the Eye Bank Association of America annual meeting this past week in Indianapolis. 🏁

We were especially pleased to see Iowa cornea recipient Phil Hester receive the association's Crystal Cornea award, for his work to elevate public awareness of corneal donation and transplantation. 💚💙

🌿✨ On Thursday, May 21, we hosted our annual Celebration of Hope & Renewal in the Iowa Lions Donor Memorial & Healing Ga...
05/29/2026

🌿✨ On Thursday, May 21, we hosted our annual Celebration of Hope & Renewal in the Iowa Lions Donor Memorial & Healing Garden at University of Iowa Health Care Medical Center- University Campus in Iowa City.

This special event honors eye, organ and tissue donors as well as their loved ones. It also recognizes the dedication of those who support the donation and transplantation process, and allows transplant recipients to express their gratitude.

Attendees heard remarks from Esther Baker, executive director of Iowa Lions Eye Bank; Dr. Kanwal Matharu, Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at University of Iowa Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences; Dr. Mark Greiner, Medical Director of ILEB and Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at University of Iowa Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences; Gift of Sight recipient Charise Schwarm, and Dave McGlaughlin, who shared the story of his wife, Gift of Sight donor Jeanna McGlaughlin.

The ceremony also featured beautiful musical selections by Dr. Matthew Bean of Western Illinois University and a reading of the Honor Roll of donors by Junior Miss Clinton County 2026 - Mackie Malli. We are grateful to Jay Herman of Groove Announcing and Event Services for generously providing the sound system and ambient music that helped create a meaningful atmosphere for remembrance and reflection.

Thank you to everyone who joined us as we honored donors, celebrated recipients, and reflected on the lasting impact of the gift of sight. 💙 You can watch the ceremony at the link in the comments.

We are having a great time at the 2026 annual meeting of ARVO in Denver! Yesterday was a big day for our researchers. 🤩➡...
05/05/2026

We are having a great time at the 2026 annual meeting of ARVO in Denver! Yesterday was a big day for our researchers. 🤩

➡️Josh Kettelkamp, a third-year medical student in the Carver College of Medicine and Apurva Dusane, a PhD student from University of Iowa College of Pharmacy gave presentations at the podium.

➡️ Swathi Kalidindi, Graduate Research Assistant, Pharmaceutical Sciences and Experimental Therapeutics, Aditya Somisetty, research assistant for the University of Iowa Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, and Brian Young, a third-year medical student in the Carver College of Medicine, presented posters.

We’re also proud to recognize the contributions of our research team: Dr. Mark Greiner, medical director of Iowa Lions Eye Bank, Greg Schmidt, Iowa Lions Eye Bank's director of research and development, Jessica M. Skeie, PhD, research scientist for Iowa Lions Eye Bank, and Hanna Shevalye, BS, and and Tim Eggleston, BBA, BSE, research associates for Iowa Lions Eye Bank.

We're adding to our team!We're searching for a Clinical/Technical Specialist – Processing Services. If you have experien...
05/01/2026

We're adding to our team!

We're searching for a Clinical/Technical Specialist – Processing Services. If you have experience working in an aseptic/sterile/highly regulated environment, or a background in health care or laboratory work, and have the ability to perform extremely delicate tasks both with and without the assistance of a binocular operating microscope, this may be the job for you!

Link in comments!

04/27/2026

Did you know if you are a patient at a UnityPoint hospital, you can sign up as an organ donor through MyChart?

Donate Life Month ends next week! This past week, we were honored to attend a "Faces of Donation" event at MercyOne Wate...
04/24/2026

Donate Life Month ends next week!

This past week, we were honored to attend a "Faces of Donation" event at MercyOne Waterloo Medical Center, where donor family member George Rickey spoke about his wife, Sally, and his experience meeting one of her cornea recipients.

We also put a message up the windows of our headquarters in Coralville: "Donate Life and Sight." Check it out as you pass by on Coral Ridge Avenue!

Address

2500 Crosspark Road, Ste W300
Coralville, IA
52241

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

Telephone

+13193354888

Website

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