Miracles In Sight, one of the world’s largest eye banks, said Monday it has donated $500,000 to the Duke Eye Center.
The donation will fund a three-year pilot program to improve the availability of human eye tissue for sight-saving research.
The grant from the Winston-Salem nonprofit agency also will be used to establish a registry where people with eye disease can express their interest in donating their eyes to research. It also will help to broaden the reach of electronic medical records across Duke University’s medical facilities.
“Scientists are facing a shortage of donated human eye tissue for research, which is critical for understanding the root causes of eye disease,” said Dr. Daniel Stamer, a professor of ophthalmology and biomedical engineering at Duke Eye Center. “Damaged tissue from devastating diseases, such as glaucoma and macular degeneration, provide valuable research material for these uniquely human conditions.
“Having a good medical history on donor tissue will help us understand what has happened to the eyes over a life span, which informs our research and moves us closer to identifying cures,” Stamer said.
Stamer and his team have worked with Miracles In Sight and Duke University Hospital to lift age restrictions on donated tissue, gain access to medical records, and implement procedures for recovering and delivering tissue directly to scientists in half the time.
Dean Vavra, chief executive of Miracles in Sight, said the grant is consistent with its mission of “supporting laboratory research that will advance our understanding of blinding diseases, leading to cures.”
Stamer said the groups are confident that the pilot program will not only become a fixture at Duke Eye Center, but also a model for other research centers.
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