The Missouri Lions Eye Research Foundation (MLERF), in conjunction with the Kansas Sight Foundation, recently purchased eye bank equipment from the Kansas Odd Fellow/Rebekah Eye Bank, Inc. and have begun operation of the Kansas Lions Eye Bank.

The Kansas Lions Eye Bank's primary function is to retrieve, process and distribute the highest quality donor eye tissue for transplant. Eye tissue which is not suitable for transplantation is used in medical research to find the causes and cures of blinding eye diseases.

The Kansas Lions Eye Bank Laboratory will initially be established in the Kansas City, Kansas metro-area. Dr. Tim Cavanaugh, Ophthalmologist and corneal surgeon, will serve as Medical Director of the Kansas Lions Eye Bank. An additional eye bank satellite laboratory will be added in Central-Western Kansas in future months.

"We were careful in making our decision to branch out into other areas with eye banking," said PDG Carl Lake, President of the Missouri Lions Eye Research Foundation, "We wanted to maximize the amount of eye tissue available to service our area. The more tissue we get, the more people we can take care of," he said. "It's a positive advancement in eye banking, to reach out to more people in need."

With the addition of the Kansas Lions Eye Bank, the Missouri Lions Eye Research Foundation now operates five eye bank offices in three states: Missouri Lions Eye Bank, in Columbia, Springfield and St. Louis, Missouri; Central Illinois Lions Eye Bank, in Springfield, Illinois; and now Kansas Lions Eye Bank, in Kansas City, Kansas. These eye bank offices are collectively known as Heartland Eye Banks.

The Heartland Eye Banks is a division of the Missouri Lions Eye Research Foundation. Under the Heartland Eye Banks administration, the eye banks will share corneal tissue availability, in order to provide a more consistent supply of corneas for transplant to the people of Missouri, Kansas and Illinois. This will also allow the eye banks to share some expenses, which will help to maintain lower corneal processing and evaluation costs.

The Board of Directors of the Missouri Lions Eye Research Foundation will establish a Review Board of the Heartland Eye Banks. This Review Board will provide the necessary medical expertise to oversee the productivity, opportunities and potential problems of the Heartland Eye Banks and monitor political and medical trends in the eye banking industry. The Review Board will also provide expert advice to the MLERF Board regarding major financial and policy decisions pertaining to the Heartland Eye Banks.

"The Board is very supportive of this endeavor so that we can better serve our fellow Lions and mankind," explained PDG Carl. "It's a wonderful time to be a Lion and be on the MLERF Board," he said. " We Serve' is definitely our motto.".