IN THIS ISSUE
28 Years of Impact: Driving Global Sight Restoration Forward
What Our Member Eye Banks Are Saying
5-Star Service. Two Years in a Row
Request KeraNatural® Webinar Recording
Key Takeaways from EBAA TES Training
The Insider | Volume 2 Edition 1
28 Years of Impact: Driving Global Sight Restoration Forward
As we enter our 28th year of service, Vision Share renews its commitment to a single, vital mission: supporting global sight restoration with integrity, collaboration, and excellence.
Feedback from last year’s Vision Share Member and Client Survey affirmed the values that guide our work. Members praised our spirit of partnership and collaborative approach, while clients noted our reliability, efficient communication, and personalized service. One response captured this especially well. When asked if they would recommend Vision Share, one client shared, “That’s an unfair question—the fewer customers who know about the excellent service, the better for existing customers!” This kind of feedback reflects the trust placed in us and the standard we strive to uphold every day.
Fueled by that feedback, we look forward to representing the Vision Share Network in the months ahead. In the second quarter, our team will be exhibiting at several major international meetings, including ASCRS in Washington, D.C.; the World Keratoconus Congress in Florence, Italy; the Ophthalmological Society of South Africa Congress in Cape Town; and ARVO in Denver. If you are at any of these events, please stop by our booth. We would love to connect, learn how we can better serve you, and explore new opportunities to restore sight worldwide.
Thank you for your continued partnership and trust as we move into another year of impact. Together, we bring vision and hope to communities around the globe.
Surgeon Insight: Implementing CAIRS in Your Program
Silver Spring, Maryland
by Dr. Jonathan Solomon
We recently sat down with Dr. Jonathan Solomon to discuss his experience implementing CAIRS using KeraNatural® in clinical practice. In this conversation, he shares practical insights and real-world perspectives on implementing CAIRS in your program.
As part of our Global Sight Restoration Series, this video highlights how innovation is being translated into everyday practice to expand treatment options and restore sight. Watch the interview.
Introducing Darrell Walters
by VS Team
Drawn to Vision Share’s mission of supporting global sight restoration around the world, Darrell joined the organization with a desire to contribute behind the scenes in a meaningful way. He was especially interested in helping strengthen financial processes to support a growing, global organization. Since joining, what has stood out most is the level of collaboration across teams and partner eye banks.
Coordinating efforts across countries and organizations to ensure tissue reaches patients in need is both complex and inspiring. In his role, Darrell supports Vision Share’s financial operations, including reporting, invoicing, and accounts receivable. His work helps ensure that systems run smoothly, allowing the broader team to focus on serving eye banks and surgeons worldwide.
Darrell finds the global nature of the work especially fascinating, seeing how individuals and organizations across different cultures come together with a shared commitment to restoring sight.
Outside of work, Darrell enjoys spending time with family, staying active in his community, and cheering on his kids at sporting events. Looking ahead, he is excited to continue strengthening financial systems and reporting to support Vision Share’s continued growth and impact.
What Our Member Eye Banks Are Saying
by VS Team
“As a lifelong eye banker, I can say Vision Share truly understands what is at stake in our profession. When you are entrusted with donated tissue to provide life-changing treatment, you need a partner you can trust. Their team understands both the medical and logistical complexities and manages them with experience and professionalism.
Communication is clear, logistics are handled with precision, and that level of reliability makes a real difference in patient outcomes. Most importantly, they never lose sight of the human impact, ensuring donor tissue reaches the patients who need it with care and urgency.”
Charles Pivoney, President,
The Eye Bank of Kentucky
5-Star Service. Two Years in a Row
We are grateful for the opportunity to support global sight restoration and remain focused on serving our customers with the highest level of care.
Request KeraNatural® Webinar Recording
by Prof. Dr. Aylin Kılıç and Yousuf Khalifa, MD
As CAIRS continues to gain traction globally, access to real-world insight is essential. This recorded session brings together experienced surgeons to share case outcomes, practical techniques, and lessons learned using KeraNatural® to help support broader adoption and improved patient care. To request the recording, please email Tony Dang at tdang@visionshare.org.
Key Takeaways from EBAA TES Training
by Angela Horne
I recently had the privilege of attending the Technician Education Seminar (TES), and it was an incredible deep dive into the heart of what we do. It was inspiring to trace our work back to the first human corneal transplant in 1905.
While the techniques have evolved into today’s innovative surgeries, the core passion for global sight restoration remains the same. Eye banks aren’t just processing tissue; they’re part of a century-long mission.
One of the most striking moments was seeing a diagram comparing the thickness of DMEK and DSAEK grafts to human hair follicle. We deal with these numbers daily but seeing that visual representation of just how thin and delicate this tissue is really put the technical precision into perspective. This training provided invaluable insight into exactly what surgeons need in the OR and why our specific criteria is so vital. It helps us better understand the expectations placed on eye banks and the crucial role we play in the surgical outcome.
A big thank you to the wonderful team of doctors, volunteers, and eye bankers who put this program together. Their expertise and passion made the seminar not only educational but truly enjoyable to attend. I’m walking away with a much deeper appreciation for our field!
Build Brand Momentum
by Melanie Howell
We also expanded our content and outreach efforts to better connect with partners and share practical, real-world insights. This included new materials to support engagement with eye banks, as well as surgeon-focused content such as our interview with Dr. Jonathan Solomon, highlighting clinical experience with KeraNatural in practice. Together, these efforts along with continued growth in our digital presence, are strengthening collaboration across the network and reinforcing Vision Share’s role in supporting global sight restoration.
What’s Happening Behind the Scenes?
by Tony Dang
The Vision Share team is proud to collaborate with our member eye banks and partners to expand access to training and strengthen global capabilities in corneal care.
In partnership with Saving Sight, we are supporting surgeon training initiatives that create opportunities for hands-on learning and peer-to-peer knowledge sharing. At the same time, we are working with Dr. Heather Nuskind, Eversight’s Director of Global Development and Surgical Innovations, to advance eye bank training in Morocco—focused on building local capacity, sharing expertise, and strengthening infrastructure for long-term impact.
Starting next month, Vision Share will be participating in several wet labs focused on CAIRS using KeraNatural tissue. At the wet labs, surgeons will gain practical experience and the opportunity to learn from leaders currently performing the procedure. Upcoming wet labs will take place in South Africa, Italy and Canada in 2026.
If you are a surgeon or eye bank interested in learning more or getting involved, we invite you to contact us through our website at visionshare.org/contact or reach out directly to Tony Dang at tdang@visionshare.org.
WEBS 2026
Prague, Czech Republic
by VS Team
The World Eye Bank Symposium (WEBS) is a premier biennial conference hosted by the Global Alliance of Eye Bank Associations (GAEBA) in partnership with regional founding organizations. Building on the momentum of WEBS 2022 with EBAANZ and WEBS 2024 in Jakarta with the Asian Eye Bank Association (AEBA), we are proud that WEBS 2026 is to be hosted in partnership with the European Eye Bank Association (EEBA) in the historic city of Prague.
This year’s theme is “Eye Banking 3.0: Deconstructing the Cornea for Patient-Specific Transplants,” exploring customised corneal transplantation, global supply solutions, and the rise of synthetic tissue and bioengineering. Abstracts are welcomed for oral and poster presentation and the submission deadline is April 30, 2026.
Important Details
- Early Bird Registration until Monday, 25th May 2026.
- Enquiries: webs2026@gaeba.org
- Learn more at gaeba.org/webs.
An Update From Our Member Eye Banks
Eversight
For nearly a decade, Eversight, a global nonprofit eye bank, has worked alongside dedicated leaders in Pakistan to address one of the country’s most urgent public health challenges: corneal blindness.
In December 2025, that long-term commitment reached a milestone when Eversight Vice President of Global Development Collin Ross and Eversight Medical Director Shahzad Mian, MD, traveled to Lahore and Rawalpindi to help advance the growing momentum of local eye banking and cornea donation. Discover how global collaboration led to the inauguration of a new eye bank at King Edward Medical University and Pakistan’s first eye banking symposium.
“I hope this will revitalize the process so tissue recovery and distribution occur at the local level in multiple cities in Pakistan,” Dr. Mian said. “That they can develop a network similar to what we have in the United States, coordinating best practices in providing corneal tissue to patients throughout the country.”
Read the complete article here –
https://eversightvision.org/blog/pakistan-global-collaboration-eye-bank
Lions Eye Bank of Wisconsin
Lions Eye Bank of Wisconsin has long demonstrated a deep commitment to honoring the gift of sight—not only through responsible tissue stewardship, but through meaningful engagement with donor families.
Vision Share is proud to partner with Lions Eye Bank of Wisconsin on a new initiative to collect and share stories from international recipients whose vision has been restored, along with donor stories shared by their loved ones.
For donor families, seeing the global impact of their loved one’s gift can be incredibly meaningful. This effort also helps deepen understanding of how the Gift of Sight transforms lives across borders.
Together, this partnership reflects a shared commitment to expanding global placement opportunities while honoring each donor’s legacy with care and transparency. We look forward to sharing these powerful stories in the months ahead.
