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

Journey for Sight

Celebrations for 100th anniversary of corneal transplant


55th Annual Membership Meeting

Poster Award Ceremony Recognizes Children's Efforts


EVENTS:
2008 Calendar

17th Annual Benefit Golf Tournament

2005 Centennial Anniversary

Look for us at these upcoming events!


Sight Society honors Susan Hayes
magician

The Sight Society of Northeastern New York, Inc.
Lions Eye Bank at Albany recognizes Susan Hayes for 10 years of Service, 1997-2007

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 – Chris Jackson, Board President,
Susan Hayes, Manager of Donor Services 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.

 

Boston International Lions Convention


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The 89th Lions Clubs International Convention was held in Boston, Massachusetts, June 29, 2006 to July 4, 2006. Over 25 thousand Lions from all over the world attended this yearly event. The Lions Eye Bank at Albany was one of four eye banks in attendance. Many exhibits and events were offered during the convention. Pictured at left is Pete Wilson, Gloversville Lions Club, Victoria Adler, Lions Eye Bank at Albany and Conroy Beebie, Gloversville Lions Club. Pictured at right is Roger Swartfiguer, New Hartford Lions Club.
 

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.
legislators
“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


state police
donor
donor
The Sight Society of Northeastern New York, Inc. (Lions Eye Bank at Albany) hosted its third Annual Donor Memorial Service to honor those who have given the gift of sight. This memorial service was held Sunday, September 23, 2007 at the Desmond Hotel, Albany, NY.

There were over 300 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 Landau, Chaplain, Albany Medical Center and Michael W. Belin, M.D., Professor of Ophthalmology Albany Medical Center, Medical Director of the Lions Eye Bank, a corneal transplant surgeon.  Also, sharing her own personal story was Christine Renus, 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:

 

Bailey, Filipp & Wakil, Eye Physicians and Surgeons
Bassett Healthcare
Bud’s Florist
Canton Potsdam Hospital
Catskill Lioness Club
Daniel Petashnick, MD
Fleurtacious Designs

Galway Lions Club
Greenwood Lake Lions Club
Golub Foundation
Hudson Valley Eye Surgeons
Mary Davidian, MD
Nagengast Florist
St. Mary’s Hospital – Amsterdam
Town of Ulster Lions Club

   


 

Journey for Sight



journey photo

The Albany & Troy Lions Club joined together with the Sight Society of Northeastern New York, Inc. (Lions Eye Bank at Albany) to sponsor their 3rd  Annual Journey for Sight Walk-a-thon on September 16, 2006.  Lions, family and friends gathered on the beautiful sunny morning at Riverfront Park, Troy, NY for a walk along the shore of the Hudson River.  Associate sponsor for this year’s event was Capital Bauer Insurance and Financial Services.  Fagan Associates, Center for Donation and Transplant, Teal, Becker & Chiaramonte and Key Bank generously provided the walk’s tee shirts.  The walkers and those who stopped by to visit enjoyed tasty treats donated by Goold Orchards, Stewart’s Shops, Dunkin Donuts, Culligan Water of Troy and Price Chopper.  Although our friend, Waterford Lion Gil Roy, could not attend this year’s walk he arranged a live remote broadcast on local radio station WABY.  A very special thank you to PDG Dave Harris for his continued support and participation in the Albany & Troy Lions Club, as well as The Sight Society of Northeastern New York, Inc. (Lions Eye Bank at Albany).

 

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



This year (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 Benedictine Hospital with Hospital of the Year Award


Pictured here are Thomas Dee, President and CEO of Benedictine Hospital and Vicki Adler, Executive Director/Tissue Bank Director of the Sight Society of Northeastern NY, Inc.
(Lions Eye Bank at Albany).

The Sight Society of Northeastern New York, Inc. (Lions Eye Bank at Albany) has selected Benedictine Hospital, Kingston, for their 2007 “Hospital of the Year” award recipient.

In recognition of Helen Keller Day, the Lions Eye Bank at Albany presented the award to Benedictine Hospital officials on Friday, June 1 at 10:30 a.m. during a brief ceremony held in the hospital’s conference room. Thomas Dee, President and CEO, accepted this award on behalf of the hospital.

“The award’s purpose is to recognize Benedictine Hospital 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 Benedictine Hospital, the Lions Eye Bank at Albany was able to honor the wishes of 14 donor families last year, thus restoring the sight of 20 people suffering from corneal blindness.”

Joining the staff of the Lions Eye Bank at Albany to recognize Benedictine Hospital was, Dan Terpening, President, Kingston Lions Club, Kevin Gillfeather, Foundation President, Kingston Lions Club, Joyce Maier, District Governor, Lions Club District 20-0, members of the hospital’s Executive and Management Teams as well as nursing staff.

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.
 

55th Annual Membership Meeting


The 55th Annual Membership Meeting of the Sight Society of Northeastern New York, Inc. was held on April 22, 2007 at the Albany Hilton Garden Inn. At this meeting, Executive Board members and Officers were elected and two research grants were awarded. Recipients of the research grants were Dr. Michael Belin and Dr. Robert Schulte. Picture at left shows Chris Jackson, Sight Society President, Roger Swartfiguer, Sight Society Chairman and Dr. Robert Schultze.

 

 

Edward C. VanDenburgh Memorial Award



The Sight Society of Northeastern New York, Inc., Lions Eye Bank at Albany is please to announce that Jason Moskowitz, a member of the Class of 2007 at Niskayuna High School is this year’s recipient of the Edward C. Vandenburgh Memorial Award. Congratulations, Jason.
 

Stewarts Donation



The Sight Society of Northeastern New York is pleased to announce that the Stewarts Holiday Match has donated $750 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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Medical Director named Fellow



Michael W. Belin, M.D., Medical Director of the Sight Society of Northeastern New York, Inc., Lions Eye Bank at Albany and professor of ophthalmology and director of cornea and refractive surgery at AMC, has been named a fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists (RANZCO). Dr. Belin is one of only four ophthalmologists in the United States to be selected as an international fellow of the college.

The role of RANZCO is to promote the science and practice of ophthalmology through a range of scientific, clinical and professional services. One of RANZCO’s major educational programs is clinical modules developed by the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) called Focal Points. Dr. Belin is the immediate past editor-in-chief of Focal Points. Because of his work with AAO, Dr. Belin was an invited speaker to the RANZCO annual meeting in 2002 in Sydney, Australia and in 2003 in Auckland, New Zealand. Last year he represented the AAO in Melbourne.
 

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


The procedure, which was approved by the FDA this past September following three years of clinical trials, which 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



calendar

The 8th Annual Poster Award Ceremony was held on April 26, 2007 at the Empire State Plaza. Over 460 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, and Sister Jane Herb, Superintendent of Schools, Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany along with the student’s whose artwork was selected for our 2008 Calendar and our 2007 Holiday Greeting.
 Congratulations to all of our winners.


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Give the Gift of Sight this Holiday Season!


Support blind children by purchasing a
"Through Their Eyes - The Gift of Sight" 2008 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 467 posters is truly a winner thirteen have been selected to adorn a calendar for the year 2008 and an additional one for our 2007 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 Form2008 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 18th Annual Benefit Golf Tournament
Colonie Country Club, Voorheesville, NY
August 4, 2008



Golf Tournament Your help with our 18th 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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Sight Society of NENY Acknowledges Centennial Anniversary

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. Vision is one of our most precious senses and one that modern medicine has made miraculous strives over the last century. We now celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first corneal transplant, a procedure that now routinely restores vision to patients who were previously functionally blind. In the U.S. over 46,000 corneal transplants are performed annually, and corneal transplantation is the most successful transplant being performed. On behalf of all the past and future recipients, I would like to thank the families of past donors and the Sight Society of Northeastern New York (Lions Eye Bank at Albany) for their generosity and effort.

Michael W. Belin, MD
Medical Director, Lions Eye Bank at Albany
Professor of Ophthalmology – Albany Medical College

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Upcoming Events
Look for us at these upcoming events



  • January 15th—Albany Medical Center Winter EMS Symposium
  • February 2—Elmira “Jackels” Donor Awareness Hockey game 7:30pm, First Arena, Elmira, NY
  • March—Eye Donor Awareness Month
                   Legislative Education Day
                   Kingston Lions Expo & Home Show Exhibt
  • April—Gift of Life Month Awareness—Hospital and Public Exhibits
                 “Through Their Eyes” student art exhibit and reception
  • April 27th—Sight Society of NENY, Inc.  Annual Meeting Desmond Hotel and Conference Center, Albany, NY
  • May 2nd-4th—Lions MD 20 New York/Bermuda Convention, Niagara Falls, NY
  • June 3rd—Helen Keller Day—Hospital of the Year Award
  • June 8th—National Kidney Foundation Walk-a-thon
  • July 5—Kiwanis Summerfest, Averill Park, NY
  • August 1st—National Minority Donor Awareness Day
  • August 4th—18th Annual Benefit Golf Tournament
  • September 21st—Donor Memorial Service
  • October: Date TBA— “Champions of Sight” Award
  • October 9th—World Sight Day
  • November 8—St. Francis Hospital Trauma Conference
  • November, two weekends before Thanksgiving National Donor Sabbath Weekend
  • November 27th—ThanksGIVINGDay Give Thanks.  Give Life.
  • December — Lions Eye Bank Week