SightLife Surgical announced last week that it has entered a partnership with partnership with the Lions Eye Bank of Texas at Baylor College of Medicine (LEBT). The partnership aims to serve the local community by allowing LEBT to continue performing eye and cornea donation functions and by allowing SightLife Surgical to provide local surgeons and their patients more choices for cornea treatments.
Through the partnership, Sightlife Surgical will process and distribute corneal tissue recovered by LEBT. Through SightLife Surgical’s extensive network and the solid base LEBT has created, local surgeons will have access to a larger donor pool of tissue from which they can meet the specific needs of their patients. In addition, SightLife Surgical provides education and training opportunities and an expanding offering of innovative products and services tailored to corneal surgeons.
“By working with SightLife Surgical and continuing to work with LifeGift, our federally designated Organ Procurement Organization, LEBT brings together three industry leaders, which will have an incredible impact on the cornea transplant community in our region,” said Samantha Colborn, executive director of LEBT. “Together, we are expanding the opportunities to give the gift of sight to more people in our region than ever before.”
“SightLife Surgical is proud to have been invited to partner with LEBT. This relationship will help the local community and supports our mutual mission to eliminate corneal blindness worldwide by 2040,” said Monty Montoya, president and CEO of SightLife Surgical. “In 2017 alone, working with best-in-class eye banks and surgeons across the country allowed us to provide a record-breaking 14,274 corneas to those in need worldwide.”
“This new partnership is a win-win for our community,” said Dr. Sumitra Khandelwal, assistant professor of Opthalmolgy at Baylor and medical director of LEBT. “Surgeons win as they can get all of their cornea transplant services and products from the experienced SIghtlife Surgical team. Meanwhile, Lions Eye Bank of Texas can focus on donor families and their needs as well the missions of Baylor College of Medicine: education, research and community service.”
The Lions Eye Bank of Texas at Baylor College of Medicine (LEBT) is a Houston-based non-profit organization that serves the Texas Gulf Coast and other regions in southeast Texas. LEBT procures over 1,400 eye donations every year to meet the needs of surgeons along the Texas Gulf Coast.
Seattle-based SightLife Surgical is described as the world’s first cornea-focused company, and provides corneal surgeons and patients with a spectrum of services, including delivery of the highest quality tissue, the latest products and devices, surgeon education and advocacy for patient access and reimbursement policies.
Source: SightLife Surgical