We often take the simple pleasures of life for granted. Seeing your children or grandchildren, the sunrise or the necessity of driving, that is until they are lost.
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  News & Events

NEWS:
Reflections of Love

Celebrations for 100th anniversary of corneal transplant


58th Annual Membership Meeting

Poster Award Ceremony Recognizes Children's Efforts


EVENTS:
2011 Calendar

21st Annual Benefit Golf Tournament

Look for us at these upcoming events!


Play Ball with the Tri-City Valley Cats!


valley catIn order to raise awareness of the great need for organ, eye and tissue donation, the Lions Eye Bank at Albany hosted a New York State Donor Registry Drive during donate lifea Tri-City Valley Cats baseball game. The game was held on August 15, 2010 at the Joseph L. Bruno Stadium, Troy, NY. The game was dedicated to “Community Heroes” and it was a great night of baseball; the Valley Cats played the Staten Island Yankees. To help inspire others to be an organ, eye and tissue donor the first pitch was thrown by David Tomlin whose son Matthew died in a tragic accident and gave the gift of sight upon his death..


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     Pictured here: Valley Cats mascot “Southpaw” wearing Donate Life tee shirt.

 

2010 Visionary of the Year


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Picture here: Board President Fran Harrison; Ed Blodgett; and Chairman of the Board Roger Swartfiguer.

Sight Society of NENY, Inc., presented the Clarence G. Simmons Award to Edward Blodgett for his distinguished continuous service and in recognition of the outstanding leadership he has made to this organization and to the objectives for which it stands. This award is decided by the Sight Society’s Board of Directors. Ed is the eight recipient of this award in the fifty-eight year history of the Sight Society of Northeastern NY, Inc.

 

 

 

2010 Visionary of the Year


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Dr. Bala accepts the award from Vicki Adler, Executive Director.

The Sight Society of Northeastern New York, Inc. (Lions Eye Bank at Albany) is pleased to announce that they have chosen Nadarajah Balasubramaniam, MD, Schenectady County Coroner to be their “2010 Visionary of the Year”. He was chosen for this distinction because of his unending commitment to donation. In appreciation for all that he does to promote the “Gift of Sight” Dr. Bala was presented the 2010 Visionary Award during the Donor Memorial Service held on September 26, 2010 at the Desmond Hotel and Conference Center, Albany, NY.award

 

 

 

Golf Tournament a Success


mtf logo
keeler
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The Sight Society of Northeastern New York, Inc. (Lions Eye Bank at Albany) held its 20th Annual Benefit Golf Tournament and 9th Annual Lions Club Challenge, on Monday, August 2, 2010 at the Colonie Country Club, Voorheesville, NY.

It was a great day for golf.  The day was sunny, warm and 57 golfers enjoyed the beautiful golf course while supporting the eye bank and its mission - to provide one of life’s greatest gifts, the gift of sight.

The following Lions Clubs participated in the 9th Annual Lions Club Challenge: Bethlehem, Chatham, Dover, Duane, Galway, Herkimer, Hyde Park and Marlboro-Milton. 

The Herkimer Lions won the challenge and will keep the trophy for another year.  The tournament’s winning team was also from the Herkimer Lions Club, while second place went to the foursome including Bob Loveridge,  Hal Smith, Asa Neff and Tom O’Conor.

Many thanks to all of the sponsors whose generosity helped to make the day a success.  A special thanks to Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation, Dinner Sponsor, CDPHP, Lunch Sponsor, and Keeler Honda, Hole-in-One sponsor.

 

 
Sight Society honors Joann Beach
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The Sight Society of Northeastern New York, Inc. (Lions Eye Bank at Albany) recognizes Joann Beach for 10 years of Service, 2000-2010

For her commitment and compassion in the care of grieving families along with her outstanding accomplishments and best practices used to facilitate cornea donation.

Pictured here from the left – Fran Harrison, Board President, Joann Beach, Manager of Hospital Development & Events and Roger Swartfiguer, Chairman of the Board.

 

 

Life Pass It On Trust Fund


Through the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles you now have the opportunity to make a $1 contribution to the LIFE PASS IT ON TRUST FUND.   This opportunity is available on the application for Drivers License or Non Driver ID Card.  A contribution to the Fund is used for organ donation and transplant research and educational projects promoting organ and tissue donation.  This was made possible by Legislation that was passed in 2006.

 

LEGISLATIVE PACKAGE ENCOURAGING ORGAN & TISSUE DONATION


Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver announced that the Assembly will take up a 12-bill package aimed at encouraging greater donation participation in New York State. Joined at a Capitol news conference by a bipartisan group of key legislators who are sponsoring bills in the package, as well as numerous advocates, Silver stressed the importance of raising public awareness in order to increase the rate of organ donation in New York State.
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“Every day thousands of desperate New Yorkers wait for the phone to ring with news of an available kidney, liver, heart or lung. For these individuals, organ donation is their last option,” said Silver. “By taking up these bills and calling attention to this national crisis, we are hopeful that more New Yorkers will choose to make this ultimate, lifesaving gift.”

The organ donation issue has received renewed interest in New York State following the announcement last month by Assemblyman Richard Brodsky that he will donate a kidney to his 14-year old daughter, Willie, who is suffering from an autoimmune disease.

“New York State lags behind the rest of the country in organ and tissue donation. This legislative package is aggressive and visionary and has the potential to vastly improve donation in New York State. In particular, Assemblyman Brodsky’s idea to establish a commission to study presumed consent can make a big difference for New Yorkers waiting for transplants,” said Elaine Berg, President and CEO of the New York Organ Donor Network.

“The need for life saving transplants grows every day. As of June 19, there are 92,278 people on the national waiting lists; over 8,000 are from New York. In addition, eye sight is restored, burns are healed and mobility regained because of altruistic people willing to share the gift of life. These innovative policy changes can make a difference to those on the waiting list, said Carla Williams, Executive Director of the New York Alliance for Donation.

Of the 12 bills that were introduced, 7of them passed the Assembly and the Senate. We are awaiting the governor’s signature. This was a great day for all New Yorkers.
 

Reflections of Love


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The Sight Society of Northeastern New York, Inc. (Lions Eye Bank at Albany) hosted its sixth Annual Donor Memorial Service to honor those who have given the gift of sight. This memorial service was held Sunday, September 26, 2010 at the Desmond Hotel, Albany, NY.

There were over 350 donor family members in attendance for this memorial service at which they were presented the New York State Gift of Life Medal of Honor. Thanks to the support of several state legislators, Governor George E. Pataki signed legislation in 2002 establishing the New York State Gift of Life Medal of Honor Program to recognize the selfless, life-saving contributions of organ, eye and tissue donors. As part of that legislation, the Governor commissioned a medal to be presented to families of deceased organ, eye and tissue donors and to living organ, bone marrow and peripheral blood stem cell donors.             

The New York State Police Honor Guard helped us pay tribute to our Donor Families by Presenting the Colors. The New York State Police plays a vital role in the giving of the gift of sight by helping to transport corneas to those in need.

Keynote Speaker, Dr. Eileen Leary-Kelly, a grief therapist spoke to the family members about their grief journey.   Vicki Crosier, a donor mom, shared her own personal story.  Vicki Crosier, whose son Kyle, died several years ago in a tragic accident said “being able to donate her son’s organs, giving the gift of life to another, made something positive come from her loss”.   Other speakers included Claudia Meyer, Chaplain, Albany Medical Center and Robert Eden, M.D. a corneal transplant surgeon.  Also, sharing her own personal story was Kathleen Ward, a cornea recipient.

The service concluded with a video presentation displaying pictures of those who gave the gift of sight, which was followed by a light reception.
Special thanks to all who helped make this memorial service such a special event:

The Desmond Hotel

Darhon Rees-Rohrbacher (harpist)

New York State Police Honor Guard

Patricia Schoof

Howard Fogelson (photographer)

The Sight Society of Northeastern NY, Inc.’s Executive Board of Directors, the Medical Advisory Board and The Donor Memorial Planning Committee.

We recognize and thank the following for their generosity either through donations or by financial support of this memorial service:

Albany & Troy Lions Club

Bud’s Florist – two floral arrangements

Children’s Medical Eye Consultants

Fleurtateous Designs – floral arrangement

Gloversville Lions Club

Golub Foundation – floral arrangement

Hyde Park Lions Club

Hurley Lions Club

Lions Club of Greater Amsterdam

Lions Club of Sauquoit Valley

 

Lumberland Lions Club

Manchester Ophthalmology – Dr. Petashnick

Mary Davidian, MD

Mark Stamm, MD

Nagengast Florist – floral arrangement

New Hartford Lioness Club

New Hartford Lions Club

Otisville Lions Club

Retina Consultants – Dr. Beer

   

Special thanks to all who helped make this memorial service such a special event.


 

American Academy of Ophthalmology



Dr. Belin is pleased to report that an ongoing project partially funded by the Lions and the Sight Society of Northeastern New York, Inc. has been accepted for presentation at the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Dr. Belin says “while we typically get papers accepted at meetings associated with or preceding the Academy, getting a paper accepted at the Academy meeting is a major accomplishment.” His paper states the results from the Multi-Center Boston Keratoprosthesis Study Group. Congratulations to Dr. Belin!
 

celebrations for 100th anniversary of corneal transplant



In 2005 the Lions Eye Bank at Albany and the EBAA (Eye Bank Association of America) celebrated the 100 year anniversary of the first corneal transplant. It seems an appropriate time to look, not at the last 100 years, but more recently to what has changed in the field of corneal transplantation. Transplanting the human cornea has had an excellent and long successful track record. The majority of transplanted corneas are accepted (not rejected) and remain clear affording the patient a significant improvement in their daily living. There are, however, certain aspects of the surgery that limits the degree of ultimate success:

First, the visual recovery is slow and full healing of a standard transplant can take up to one year. While most patients go home from surgery the same day and can resume near normal activity in just a matter of days, visual recovery is much slower and can fluctuate for the first year.

Second, the final shape of the transplanted cornea often does not resemble the patient’s preoperative corneal shape. At times, the transplanted cornea exhibits an irregular surface with increased astigmatism, necessitating either a thick spectacle correction or, more commonly, a rigid contact lens for the patient to see clearly.



FIGURE 1 – schematic showing the area of the posterior cornea removed during selection transplantation



Finally, a small proportion of patients have their transplant fail usually due to repeated immunologic rejection. For these patients, each repeated transplant carries a higher rejection rate and subsequently an overall much poorer prognosis.

The last five years has seen the emergence of a number of new procedures each attempting to address some of the above concerns. Traditionally when a corneal transplant is performed the entire cornea (full thickness) is transplanted. More recently we have begun selectively transplanting different layers of the cornea. For patients with corneal edema (swelling) we can transplant just the back half of the cornea. Selectively replacing the posterior portion of the cornea allows for a more rapid healing and retains more of the patient’s original corneal shape leading to a quicker visual rehabilitation.










FIGURE 2 – A microkeratome device is used to prepare anterior layer to transplant from the donor cornea








For patients with corneal scars in the anterior cornea, we can now replace the front half of the cornea while leaving the patients posterior cornea behind. The posterior layer of the cornea (endothelium) is the layer responsible for immunologic graft rejection, so selectively replacing the front portion almost eliminates the risk of graft rejection.

Finally, the last few years has seen a dramatic increase in the use of the Keratoprosthesis (artificial cornea) for patients who have had multiple previous graft failures. The artificial cornea allows patients, whom otherwise would have not a chance of useful vision, the opportunity to live a productive life. The Albany Medical Center Lions Eye Institute is the national data collection site for the major keratoprosthesis in use today.








FIGURE 3 – Appearance of the keratoprostheis (artificial cornea) one day after surgery








All of the above procedures require new, complicated, and at times costly equipment, much of which has been supported in part by the Sight Society and Lions Eye Bank at Albany. For this, my patients, partners at Cornea Consultants of Albany and I are forever grateful

Michael W. Belin, MD
Professor & Director Cornea & Refractive Surgery Albany Medical College
Medical Director Lions Eye Bank at Albany

 
Lions Eye Bank at Albany recognizes Ellis Medicine with Hospital of the Year Award


Picture here left to right: Robert Kennedy, MD, Paul Milton, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Ellis Medicine and Vicki Adler, Executive Director, Lions Eye Bank at Albany.

 

The Sight Society of Northeastern New York, Inc. (Lions Eye Bank at Albany) has selected Ellis Medicine, Schenectady, for their 2010 “Hospital of the Year” award recipient.

The Lions Eye Bank at Albany presented the award to Ellis Medicine officials on Wednesday, June 16 at 1:00 p.m. during a brief ceremony held in the hospital’s dining room. Paul Milton, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer along with Robert Kennedy, MD, Chair, Department of Ophthalmology, Ellis Medicine accepted this award on behalf of the hospital.

“The award’s purpose is to recognize Ellis Medicine for their commitment and compassion in the care of grieving families along with their outstanding accomplishments and best practices used to facilitate cornea donation,” said Victoria Adler, RN, BSN, CPTC, CEBT, Executive Director/Tissue Bank Director, Sight Society of Northeastern New York, Inc.  “With the help of Ellis Medicine, the Lions Eye Bank at Albany was able to honor the wishes of 30 donor families last year, thus restoring the sight of 51 people suffering from corneal blindness.”

Marilyn Butler, whose sister was a cornea donor, shared her feelings regarding cornea donation.  Although she is still dealing with the tragic loss of her sister, she spoke of how she has found solace in knowing that two people have had their eyesight restored because of her sister’s precious gift of sight.  Faye Thompson, a double cornea recipient, spoke of how her cornea transplants have made a difference in her life and is sincerely grateful to her donor families for being given that second chance.

Joining the staff of the Lions Eye Bank at Albany to recognize Ellis Medicine was, Richard (Dusty) Rhodes and Marco Cuozzo, Board of Directors, Sight Society of Northeastern New York, Inc.(Lions Eye Bank at Albany), members of the hospital’s Executive and Management Teams as well as nursing staff. 

The award was presented in the month of June to recognize Helen Keller.  In 1925, Helen Keller, a humanitarian who championed the issues of deaf and deaf-blind people like herself, challenged the Lions to become her “knights of the blind in the crusade against blindness.” In 1971, the Board of Directors of Lions Clubs International declared that henceforth June 1 would be remembered as “Helen Keller Day.”

Lions are known as people of tireless drive, uncommon spirit and ambitious goals. United in efforts, they have a proud history of accomplishment. Their goal is to make a difference, hopefully having an impact on the health and well being of people around the world.

Picture: left to right: Robert Kennedy, M.D, Chair, Department of Ophthalmology, Ellis Medicine; Paul Milton, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Ellis Medicine; Vicki Adler, Executive Director, Lions Eye Bank of Albany.  In the background is the Lions Eye Bank at Albany’s remembrance quilt “Reflections”.  Each patch has been submitted by a donor family in memory of their loved one who gave the gift of sight.

 

58th Annual Membership Meeting


Pictured here Sight Society’s Executive Board of Directors left to right: PDG Dusty Rhodes, PDG Dick Ralston, PDG Dave Harris, PDG Lettie Saheim, Lion Janice Monahan, PDG Ed Blodgett, PDG Roger Swartfiguer, Jim Downs, Fran Harrison.  Back row: Lion Marco Cuuozzo, Lion Pete Lyons and Lion Chris Jackson.


The 58th Annual Meeting of the Sight Society of Northeastern New York, Inc. was held on Sunday, April 25th at the Desmond Hotel and Conference Center, Albany, NY. 

A luncheon followed the Board of Director’s business meeting. This year’s guest speaker was Dr. Edward Wladis.  Dr. Wladis gave a very informative presentation entitled “Characterization of the Molecular Biologic Milieu of Idiopathic Orbital Inflammation”.  Chairman of the Board, Roger Swartfiguer and Executive Director Vicki Adler in their annual message was pleased to announce that the eye bank had one of their best years. Their efforts helped to restore the eyesight of 467 people suffering from corneal blindness in 2009.

The Sight Society of Northeastern New York, Inc. also recognized PDG Ed Blodgett for his many years of outstanding service, generous contributions and unending commitment to the preservation of vision and the gift of sight.

 

 

Edward C. VanDenburgh Memorial Award



The Sight Society of Northeastern New York, Inc., Lions Eye Bank at Albany is please to announce that Jennifer L. Landis, a member of the Class of 2010 at Niskayuna High School is this year’s recipient of the Edward C. Vandenburgh Memorial Award. Congratulations, Jennifer.
 

Stewarts Donation


The Sight Society of Northeastern New York is pleased to announce that the Stewarts Holiday Match 2010 has donated $600 to the SSNENY. This generous donation is to be used for children 18 years of age and younger. The Sight Society of Northeastern New York has continued to assist a number of children who are blind or visually impaired to attend summer camp, purchase computer hardware and educational teaching tools for the visually impaired.

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Dr. Robert Schultze, Medical Director, Becomes First in Northeastern New York to Correct Nearsightedness with New Lens Implant


The procedure, which approved by the FDA following three years of clinical trials, included several thousand patients. Now an option in this country for those who are severely nearsighted and who-for whatever reason-cannot wear contact lenses or have Lasik surgery.

The procedure, which only takes about a half hour, must be performed in a sterile operating room environment and only one eye should be done at a time. To implant the lens, which is approximately one third the size of a contact lens, an incision is made in the eye and the lens is carefully positioned behind the cornea, the outer clear portion of the eye. It features two tiny clasps that allow the eye surgeon to attach it directly onto the iris.

After a brief recovery period (generally an hour or so) the patient returns to the ophthalmologist the following day for an eye examination to check for complications, which are rare but which can include swelling of the cornea and increased pressure on the eye. While there may be an immediate improvement in vision, the visual effects of the surgery take two weeks to a month to stabilize. The second eye can be done soon thereafter.

The lens used in the procedure is a hard plastic one, made from the same material (polymethylmethacrylate) that intraocular lenses used for cataracts have been made from for years. Known as Verisyse, the “Phalic IOL” device is marketed by Advance Medical Optics of Santa Ana, Calif. While it is designed to be permanent, it can be surgically removed and replaced if necessary (due to an eye injury or change in the eye’s shape that requires a different prescription).

Like Lasik, insurance companies do not cover the procedure. It costs approximately $3,500 per eye.

 

Poster Award Ceremony Recognizes Children's Efforts



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The 11th Annual Poster Award Ceremony was held on April 29, 2010 at the Empire State Plaza. Over 30 children from the Albany Catholic Diocese participated by submitting a poster of what the “Gift of Sight” means to them. 13 Posters were selected to create a calendar and one for our holiday greeting card. Pictured here is Mayor Jerry Jennings, Mayor of Albany along with student’s whose artwork was selected for our 2011 Calendar and our 2010 Holiday Greeting. Congratulations to all of our winners.

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Give the Gift of Sight!


Support blind children by purchasing a
"Through Their Eyes - The Gift of Sight" 2011 Calendar.
Children Helping Children

The Sight Society of Northeastern NY, Inc. (Lions Eye Bank at Albany) hosts a yearly poster contest “Through Their Eyes-The Gift of Sight.” This year students from the Catholic Schools of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany were asked to create a picture based upon what they appreciate about having the gift of sight. Hopefully, these student artists will discuss this new appreciation of the gift of sight with their families and friends. Through such discussions, our society may gain a deeper understanding of the wonderful gift of sight and reach out to those who suffer from blindness. All of the students’ artwork was on display at the Empire State Plaza for a full week in April to celebrate National Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness Week. Although, each of the 350 posters is truly a winner thirteen have been selected to adorn a calendar for the year 2011 and an additional one for our 2010 Holiday/Christmas Greeting. A reception honoring the student artists, family and friends was held at the Empire State Plaza. Jerry Jennings, Mayor of Albany, NY, publicly recognized the winners and presented awards during a brief ceremony. The calendars that are produced from the posters are available for sale and the proceeds will be used to help less fortunate children in need of eye care and educational materials. This project is about children helping children!

Please make checks payable to:
Lions Eye Bank at Albany

$8.00 per Calendar - No Tax Due.


2005 Calendar Order Form2011 Calendar Order Form

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Lions Eye Bank at Albany
6 Executive Park Drive
Albany, NY 12203

Phone: 518-489-7606
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Golf Ball

Lions Eye Bank 21st Annual Benefit Golf Tournament
Colonie Country Club, Voorheesville, NY
August 1, 2011



Golf TournamentYour help with our 21st Annual Golf Tournament will directly affect the LEB efforts here in Northeastern New York.

The following 3 links outline many ways you can support the LEB Benefit Golf Tournament. To insure your place please make your choices early and return the registration as soon as possible. Thank you for your consideration.

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Upcoming Events
Look for us at these upcoming events



  • February 26th—Elmira “Jackels” Donor Awareness Hockey game 7:30pm, First Arena, Elmira, NY
  • March—Eye Donor Awareness Month                           
  • April—Gift of Life Month Awareness—Hospital and Public Exhibits             
  • April 10th—Sight Society of NENY, Inc.  Annual Meeting Desmond Hotel and Conference Center, Albany, NY. 
  • April  - Jewish Community Center Health Fair
  • April 28th – Poster Contest Reception, Empire State Plaza, Albany
  • April 29 – May 1  Lions MD 20 New York/Bermuda Convention, Buffalo, NY
  • June 5th —National Kidney Foundation Walk-a-thon
  • June   —Hospital of the Year Award, TBA
  • July —Kiwanis Summerfest, Averill Park, NY
  • August 1st—National Minority Donor Awareness Day
  • August 1st  —21th Annual Benefit Golf Tournament, Colonie Country Club
  • September 25th—Donor Memorial Service, Desmond Hotel
  • October 14th—World Sight Day
  • November —St. Francis Hospital Trauma Conference
  • November, two weekends before Thanksgiving National Donor Sabbath Weekend
  • November 24th—ThanksGIVINGDay Give Thanks.  Give Life.
  • December — Lions Eye Bank Week