For Recipients
Corneal transplants are the most common and most successful transplants performed.
More than 50,000 cornea transplants occur in the United States each year. As a recipient,
your surgery involved replacing your cornea with a new one donated by a deceased
donor and their family.
If you have not yet written to your donor’s family, we ask that you consider writing.
It can be a very powerful experience for you and it can also be a healing experience
for the donor’s family.
Often transplant recipients choose to write to their donor’s family to express their
gratitude and share how their loved one’s gift of donation has improved their quality
of life. The San Antonio Eye Bank is available to support you in connecting you letter
or card of gratitude to the donor’s family.
After you have completed your letter or card, place it in an unsealed envelope.
Include a separate sheet of paper with your full name, date of your transplant, and the name of your surgeon.
Mail both your letter or card and the separate note to:
Attn: Transplant Recipient Correspondence
San Antonio Eye Bank
9150 Huebner Road, Suite 105
San Antonio, Texas 78240
All letters are reviewed to ensure confidentiality before the letter is forwarded to the donor family. Some donor families may send a letter or card in response to your letter. Others may choose not to write to you at this time — this is their personal decision. If you have any questions or concerns about this information, please contact the San Antonio Eye Bank.
Daniel – Living a Transformed Life
In 1995, as high school freshman, I was diagnosed with cornea disease called Keratoconous.
After graduating from high school, and later college, the disease began to take a toll on my eyesight. By 2005, the disease had deformed my right cornea to the point where I was legally blind in my right eye. I was still able to play a little bit of basketball, but I had lost the love of the game because I could no longer see the basket clearly from the three point line.
I began to become depressed at my loss of vision and started overeating and not taking care of my health. Everything climaxed in January of 2007, when in the middle of a presentation at work, my right cornea ruptured and my eye swelled to the point where you could not see the blue color in my eye.
Three months later I received a life changing gift, a cornea transplant. I learned that my cornea transplant came from a young woman, and not a day goes by where I do not thank her and her family for that gift.
Since my transplant I have been blessed and transformed in every aspect of life. After my transplant I began running, swimming and cycling and have lost over 60 pounds. In addition to training daily I have competed in two Ironman's, three marathons and hope to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Trials Marathon.
Alejandro – New Vision, New Journey
Alejandro was a sweet and precious baby, but from the beginning we knew something was odd. His eyes seemed to be a blue color and we don’t have anyone in our family that has blue colored eyes. As a baby, he would cry loudly if he was taken out into bright sunlight.
After several doctor’s visits in pre-kindergarten we learned what was wrong. He had been born with CHED disease. It was only a year after he was diagnosed, that we learned that he was quickly going blind and that a transplant was the only option.
At the age of 7, his world changed when he received “the gift of sight” a cornea transplant in his left eye. He has gone from having 20/100 to 20/60 vision.
Our family will be forever grateful for the family that donated the cornea our little boy received. Thanks to their gift he now has the opportunity to see the world and all its beauty.