2025: A Year in Review
VisionGift is celebrating 2025’s achievements through the beauty of data. Reflected in these numbers are the ways that eye tissue donated to the eye bank has impacted our community, and the world.
All work with tissue donations starts with a referral. Our Donor Referral Line operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and every day of the year, ready to spring into action when called upon. They work with the families of tissue donors to honor their wishes by collecting the approval and information necessary to recover the tissue. Of the almost 18,000 referrals we received in 2025, more than 2,100 became eye donors. The journey of each tissue collected can go on one of several routes, and each recovered tissue can provide more than one application.
From these donors, we transplant every viable tissue, resulting in approximately 3,500 corneal transplants last year alone. When donated tissue cannot be used for immediate corneal transplantation, it does not go to waste – far from it. Through VisionGift’s robust tissue processing program, donor eye tissue can be transformed into several sterile grafts, such as KeraNatural® and Halo® grafts. These grafts can be stored at room temperature for extended periods, allowing them to be used in a variety of sight-restoring procedures. For example, KeraNatural grafts can be used to treat keratoconus, a debilitating condition in which the cornea becomes progressively thinner and distorted, and can be utilized up to three years after donation. When these sterile grafts are included alongside intermediate corneal transplants, VisionGift distributed more than 5,000 sterile corneal grafts for sight restoration in 2025.
Even when a tissue cannot be used for sterile products, it does not outlive its usefulness. Over 1,500 tissues went directly to vision research or training professionals. These are vital roles to fill as research and education drive forward our mission, and the gift of sight, for all humankind.
These contributions play a vital role in advancing our mission, as they help drive scientific discovery, develop new sight-restoring therapies, and educate the next generation of surgeons and clinicians. While a single transplant can restore sight to one individual, the impact of research and education extends far beyond a single patient, creating knowledge and expertise that can improve vision and transform lives for generations to come.
Fundraising Event – Beyond the Blur – September 17, 2026
Building on the success of VisionGift’s 50th Anniversary Gala, this year’s event will highlight VisionGift’s role in advancing sight-restoring research and innovation. Join us for a fun evening on September 17th at the interactive art museum Hopscotch. We will have the venue to ourselves offering a unique opportunity to connect, reflect, and celebrate alongside community leaders, healthcare professionals, and supporters who share a passion for restoring sight.
The evening will feature an intimate, high-impact program, supporting research which benefits all humanity by expanding our understanding of diseases and offering new approaches to treatments.
Mark your calendars and join us this fall!
Find out more about our “Beyond the Blur” event.
Finding Purpose Through Research: One Scientist’s Journey at VisionGift
When she joined VisionGift just over a year ago, Cerys had recently completed her bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and was looking for a place where she could apply her passion for science in a meaningful way.
Before coming to VisionGift, she knew very little about eye banking. During the interview process, however, her curiosity stood out. She asked thoughtful questions, demonstrated a willingness to learn, and quickly became fascinated by the unique intersection of donation, transplantation, and research.
“VisionGift seemed like an ideal place,” she said. “I was interested in research and appreciated that we didn’t use animal models, we worked with human with appropriate authorization.”
Like many early-career scientists, she encountered challenges along the way. Much of her learning was afforded by the freedom to explore her new ideas. She was tasked with analyzing large amounts of research data and identifying meaningful patterns with limited guidance. Those challenges became opportunities for growth.
Today, her work focuses primarily on data analysis and scientific writing, though she is beginning a new study that will involve collecting and evaluating original data. She continues to explore emerging research questions, including how recovery times and post-mortem changes may influence tissue quality and downstream research outcomes.
Looking ahead, she is excited by the possibilities created by new technologies and equipment, particularly in the area of genomic research. She is also considering graduate school, either in the United States or abroad, as she continues to build on the foundation she has developed at VisionGift.
Reflecting on her journey, she credits the organization with helping her find direction in her scientific career.
“This job saved me, and my interest in science and research.”
Her story is a testament to the power of curiosity and our community. At VisionGift, research doesn’t just advance scientific knowledge; it helps cultivate the next generation of researchers who will drive future breakthroughs in vision science and transplantation.
To learn more about our research initiatives and impact, please visit our Research page on the VisionGift website.
Murdock Trust Supports New Research at VisionGift
VisionGift is honored to announce support from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust for our ongoing scientific research efforts focused on extending the viability window of donor corneas for transplantation.
This investment will help advance innovative research that expands scientific understanding, supports discovery, and creates meaningful impact for patients, families, and communities. Funding from the grant will strengthen our ability to pursue critical research initiatives through the acquisition of new equipment and materials necessary to broaden our studies. Training on this new equipment starts June 2026, jumpstarting our dive into new ways to study the biology of critical eye tissues such as the cornea and retina.
Research plays a vital role in improving lives and shaping the future of healthcare and scientific innovation. Through this support, VisionGift can continue exploring new approaches, including looking into storage solutions for fresh tissue. This promises the ability for our transplants to reach more people, to help give the gift of vision to those who have lost it.
VisionGift aides the pursuit of knowledge from research through three main channels: internal research done at the VisionGift lab, providing tissues for other researchers to complete their studies, and our work as contracted scientists to provide the data for collaborators to analyze and publish. Through our internal research we have published several papers recently, with more in the pipeline.
None of this would be possible without the donors and their families’ support, as well as the financial support from grants and charitable contributions.
New Video Release- Lindsey’s Story
Lindsey Petersen is a cornea recipient and shared her story at VisionGift’s 50th Anniversary Gala. Her journey shows that restored sight is not just about vision. It is about independence, healing, and returning to the moments that matter most. Watch the full video exploring her experience as a recipient and the changes it has made in her life.
