Eyes on Second Chances: Why One Transplant Center Said No, and Another Said Yes | EP 43

A living donor says "yes." The transplant center says "no." What happens next?

This week on Donor Diaries, we sit down with Diane Hollingsworth, President and CEO of Eversight, a longtime leader in organ and tissue donation, and a two-time kidney transplant recipient. Diane has spent decades helping restore sight through cornea donation while also navigating the transplant journey herself, giving her a perspective that's both deeply personal and professionally unique.

Diane's kidney disease was discovered during a high-risk pregnancy complicated by preeclampsia. She shares what it was like balancing a newborn in the NICU, young children at home, and the reality of starting dialysis before receiving a life-changing kidney from her mother. That first transplant lasted an incredible 33 years.

When it came time for a second transplant, Diane faced an obstacle many families don't expect. One transplant center declined her husband as a living donor, while another approved him. We discuss why transplant centers can make different decisions, how committee reviews influence the process, and how kidney paired exchange allowed her husband, Dave, to donate to a stranger so Diane could receive a compatible kidney before ever needing dialysis again.

Along the way, we also talk about:

• What the transplant evaluation and listing process really looks like
• Why wait times vary depending on where you're listed and your blood type
• How researching transplant centers and asking questions can open new opportunities
• A beautiful real-life example of how kidney paired exchange changes lives
• The emotional reality of recovering while your donor is in another hospital

Then we explore a topic we haven't covered before on Donor Diaries: cornea donation.

As President and CEO of Eversight, Diane explains what cornea donation is, what tissue is actually transplanted, how eye banks recover and transport donated tissue, why there isn't a waitlist for corneal transplants in the United States, and how donated tissue is restoring sight through transplantation while also advancing research and medical education.

Whether you're waiting for a transplant, considering becoming a living donor, or simply want to better understand how the donation system works, Diane's story is filled with practical advice, hope, and a reminder that persistence, advocacy, and asking the right questions can make all the difference.

Links

Eversight
Diane Hollingsworth

Donor Diaries Website
Donor Diaries on Facebook
GiftWorks Website
Connect with Laurie Lee

Transcript

Two Surgeries In Two Cities

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Well, so he was approved there, and I was approved at Wisconsin. So on October 30th last year, in the morning, Dave's kidney was retrieved and flown immediately to some unknown recipient in need. And at the same time, an unknown donor gave a kidney and it was flown to me at University of Wisconsin. We prayed for good weather so these kidneys could make it around. But in the afternoon, both of us who needed transplants received them. I don't know who the other people are. We got word that the transplant that Dave gave the kidney for went well. And we're all so grateful. I mean, it was just an amazing process.

SPEAKER_00 0:51

Hello and welcome back to Donor Diaries, a podcast exploring the world of living donation and the ordinary people changing lives every day. Today's guest brings a perspective we haven't explored in the four seasons of this podcast yet, and that is the world of cornea donation. Our guest, Diane Hollingsworth, has spent decades working in transplantation and donation advocacy, currently serving in leadership roles with Eversight, Vision Share, and Gift of Hope Organ and Tissue Donor Network. But what makes Diane's story especially meaningful to me is that transplant is not just her profession. It's deeply personal. Diane is a grateful kidney transplant recipient whose mother donated her more than 30 years ago. And then more recently, she received her second kidney transplant through a paired exchange that included her husband, Dave, as a donor. This is also a story about being informed, about understanding your options, and advocating for yourself through every stage of the transplant journey. From eye donation to kidney paired exchange, Diane's life has been shaped by the power of education, persistence, and people helping people. It's really special to me to have my friend Diane on donor diaries today. Diane's somebody who I see at Illinois awareness events. Anytime I go to one, she's there. And I think that you have a story that should be heard by people who are trying to navigate the transplant landscape because it's not always easy. And I think that your story is a true example of somebody who advocated for themselves. So thank you for being here. I'm excited to jump into your story.

SPEAKER_02 2:34

Well, I'm excited to be here. And I am excited to tell my story because I think there are many people out there that might need the advice to follow to help them through the transplant journey that I just went through.

SPEAKER_00 2:44

I totally agree. So we're going to talk a little bit about your professional career today, but let's start first with the beginning of your story.

Pregnancy Complications Reveal Kidney Disease

SPEAKER_00 2:53

And tell us a little bit about when you first learned that you would need a kidney transplant.

SPEAKER_02 2:58

Well, I say kidney disease took me by surprise. I had no idea. I was in my early 30s and healthy. So I thought, you know, I was pregnant with my first child and I had preclampsia. Okay, that's normal. And then again, my second pregnancy was preclampsia again, maybe not as normal, but it everything was fine. It wasn't until my third child that the doctors figured out that was causing my preclampsia and other issues was kidney disease. Um, we actually together figured out that in college I had strep throat and it settled into my kidneys. And so while being pregnant and being great and that high protein intake stressed my body enough that I was having kidney failure. So we needed an emergency delivery at 31 weeks with my third child. Um, and then after that, we started the process of our daughter being in NICU care and me figuring out next steps for kidney failure. But I have to say there is good news. Our baby, Emily Ann, is now 34 and she's having a baby of her own.

SPEAKER_00 3:59

Oh, congratulations.

SPEAKER_02 4:01

Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 4:02

So that had to be scary. So during your third pregnancy, you you had a a health crisis. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 4:09

Yes. I've been in the hospital for a very long time when they decided that they figured out it was kidney disease. And then um, at some point they just said, this is stressing the baby too much. We have to take the baby and you know, hope for the best. So it was a very, very trying time.

SPEAKER_00 4:25

What do you remember most about the first chapter of that journey?

SPEAKER_02 4:30

That it was the most trying time of my life. It really was. Um, splitting your time between the NICU and praying that your baby's going to live. And I had two toddlers at home and starting dialysis all at the same time. And all the emotions that go with that is just overwhelming.

SPEAKER_00 4:47

Wow. What an incredible thing to triumph through. I mean, that's I can't I can't imagine being on dialysis. And then when I think about being on dialysis with a baby and NICU and toddlers, and that just had to be terrifying for your husband as well. It was. It definitely was. And tell me a little bit about who ended up being your donor.

SPEAKER_02 5:09

So my mom ended up being a great match, and it was surreal because she's in an operating room at 57 years old, giving me a kidney, and I'm in the other room receiving. I mean, she gave me life a second time. My mom remembers that the doctor came into her room to see her after my surgery and said she peed on the table, which was good news because I was not producing urine prior to the transplant, which really meant that the transplant was successful. And my mom's a superhero. Now, on top of all of this, my father had passed away four months earlier, but she really wanted to do this. And um, even in her grief, she moved forward with uh giving me a kidney.

SPEAKER_00 5:51

Wow. So you had losing a father going on at the same time as all of us, too.

Dialysis, The NICU, And A Mom’s Gift

SPEAKER_00 5:56

Yeah, it was a lot. That was a hard point in life. So I've met your mother. I believe she was at the living donor, the donor rally that we had, right? And she was. She was always that event. And she was one of the oldest donors there, I believe. She was in her 90s. That was 2018, so she would have been in her 90s at that point. Is that right? She's 90 now, so she's 90 now, so she was in her 80s. Right. Can you just briefly tell us about your mom's health having donated a kidney and reaching the milestone of 90? Yeah, she's 90, and her kidney is still going strong.

SPEAKER_02 6:30

She might have other health issues going on, but I always check her care. Her kidney's going well, and I am so grateful for her continued kidney health. I mean, it's just it's really her kidney must have been a workhorse because it worked that way for me for 33 years, and hers is continuing to go be strong.

SPEAKER_00 6:47

Go, mom. And how long did her kidney last?

SPEAKER_02 6:51

33 years.

SPEAKER_00 6:54

That's a long time.

SPEAKER_02 6:55

That's a long time. It it it allowed me to raise my children, um, continue my career. Um, it was just something amazing for me.

SPEAKER_00 7:07

So, fast forwarding to the end of last year, you had your second transplant. What led to that moment after 33 years with your mom's healthy kidney?

SPEAKER_02 7:18

Well, a few years ago, my labs started to be not as good. And then over two years, they just continued to decline. But no complaints. I mean, I had it for 33 years. And I have come to understand that I think it was great timing because better to have it fail in my 60s if it's not gonna last me my lifetime than when I'm later in life. So I kind of thought it was a blessing. It was gonna fail. I was it it was good that it failed now and not at a time where I couldn't get a transplant potentially.

SPEAKER_00 7:47

I love your positivity. I remember you telling me that when you told me that you needed a kidney. And yes, it would be wonderful to have a kidney that lasts that long, but if you're gonna need a second one, yeah, I got your train of thought there. So tell us about your second donor.

SPEAKER_02 8:02

My husband, Dave, um, went to be a donor, but he wasn't considered to be a donor for me at the hospital I was but registered at, but he was very healthy. And then we learned the criteria for each hospital for living donors is not the same. We found through different research and things, we found the National Kidney Registry and looked to see if any other hospitals would take him as a candidate. And there were a few, so we contacted one of them, Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, and they agreed to test him as a donor. We flew down, he tested throughout the day, and he was approved as my donor. However, he was not a great match. So the next step we took was to work with both hospitals, and it was so great that both hospitals were willing to work with us on this and registered in the paired exchange program. So um, in this program, they attempted to find a person that matched me and a person that matched him. And we were so lucky. We they didn't know how long this was gonna take, but we waited only two months to find a match. I know others have waited longer, but it's I think for most people, it's a much less waiting time than waiting for a deceased donor. And I think it went well.

SPEAKER_00 9:13

So backing up a little bit, I have a question about Dave. So he was originally, I remember when I talked to you, you said your sister, your daughters, your friends, and your husband were all initially ruled out in Wisconsin, which is where you've been getting your care. So rather than saying, let's find another donor, your husband said, Well, let's let's look a little bit further into this and see who else might approve me. Can I can I ask what the condition was or what what was the medical reason that he was denied at your transplant center?

SPEAKER_02 9:44

Sure. He had kidney

A Living Donor Kidney Lasts 33 Years

SPEAKER_02 9:47

stones 40 years ago, and he was a runner at the time. You know, he's was young, and he would drink huge vanilla milkshakes after his run. So you're dehydrated and you're putting all this dairy into your system and it caused him to have kidney stones. But he hasn't, he changed his ways and he hasn't had kidney stones for that long. But a lot of centers disqualify if you've ever had any kidney stones.

SPEAKER_00 10:10

Yeah, even one kidney stone. Okay, so he ultimately donated through Mayo and Tampa while you were transplanted at the University of Wisconsin. How did that come together?

SPEAKER_02 10:21

Well, so he was approved there and I was approved at Wisconsin. So on October 30th last year, in the morning, Dave's kidney was retrieved and flown immediately to some unknown recipient in need. And at the same time, an unknown donor gave a kidney and it was flown to me at University of Wisconsin. We prayed for good weather so these kidneys could make it around. But in the afternoon, both of us who needed transplants received them. I don't know who the other people are. We got word that the transplant that Dave gave the kidney for went well. And we're all so grateful. I mean, it was just an amazing process.

SPEAKER_00 10:54

It is, and it's so crazy to me that you guys were separated for that experience. Because if my spouse was having a transplant or donating, I'd want to be with him, but you guys had to be physically apart from one another. So what did your kids just kind of like divide and conquer and decide who's watching mom and who's watching dad or what?

SPEAKER_02 11:13

Yes, they did. So I have three daughters. One went to Wisconsin, one went to Tampa. And then the um third daughter filled in when we both got home together because we still needed care then, because you think that one spouse is gonna care, one friend or whatever is gonna care for the other, but we're both down, right? So she came and really helped us. Our biggest thing was when we looked at things, we're like, it's more than 10 pounds, neither of us can live, right?

SPEAKER_00 11:39

Yeah, so you recovered together after a short period of time of probably because you live in Illinois, right? So you were neither of you were in your home state after how many days or weeks were you guys brought back together to begin your joint recovery in Illinois?

SPEAKER_02 11:54

Surprisingly, you know, I remember from the last time, I think I was in the hospital almost three weeks. We met up at our house one week after transplant. So it was great. What was that like? It was good to be back together. And you know, because it was all over phone and stuff calling back and forth. It was just, you know, it was challenging for us to to heal together, but overall it was really it was really a great reunion. Did you binge some Netflix together? I I I actually both of us were got Kindles at this time, and so we were reading books like crazy, but then in the evenings we would were binge watching all kinds of things.

SPEAKER_00 12:29

Wow. And this was kind of over the holidays, right? Right. Yeah, so you had a really chill holiday.

SPEAKER_02 12:35

Yeah, very chill. We didn't we didn't get together with family over Thanksgiving or Christmas because we were still in the mode of we want to stay away from any other anybody else's germ.

SPEAKER_00 12:45

So yeah, yeah. We hunkered down. That was a germy end of 2025, too. That's probably a really good choice. So which daughter had the hardest job?

SPEAKER_02 12:54

I

When Labs Slip And Plans Restart

SPEAKER_02 12:55

think actually who had the hardest job was the was Katie, who was at our house when we were together because we were both demanding.

SPEAKER_00 13:05

Well, thank you, Katie. Right. So switching gears a little bit, you work in the donation world professionally. What was it like navigating the transplant system as a patient versus a transplant professional?

SPEAKER_02 13:21

It was really interesting for me. I thought I knew everything, but I didn't. It was an education, and it was somewhat frustrating for me at times being in the industry. I kept thinking, what about those that are going through this and most likely sick and on dialysis without the resources that I could lean on? I think it'd be it was overwhelming for me. I can't imagine what it'd be like for others.

SPEAKER_00 13:44

Did anything surprise you about how complicated the system can feel, even for someone, like you said, somebody like yourself who does understand it?

SPEAKER_02 13:53

Yes. One thing that really surprised me was how to get on the list for a deceased or living donor. You have to be qualified, right? So you're getting given a list of tests to get done. You want to get through as soon as possible because you want to qualify. So that, you know, you know, maybe you're trying to stay off dialysis or do preemptive transplant, or you just don't want to be on dialysis too long. So you get all these tests you got to get done. You're calling around, trying to get them done as quickly as possible. And it took me four months to get all my testing done. And then you go in front of committee, and committee decides if they have enough and you're approved. And in my case, I didn't. They wanted more tests. So I went through more tests and came back. So it took me an entire year to get on the registry. And again, I think that's a really tough road. And I thought I wish it were a little simpler, truthfully, because with a living donor, you go in and you get all your tests done at the same day, and it's a quick process. So I was really surprised at all it took for an individual to do what they needed to do to get on the list to begin with. So that was very eye-opening to me.

SPEAKER_00 14:58

Yeah, that's a long time. And did you have to go on dialysis during that time?

SPEAKER_02 15:02

So I was really lucky because I I my nephrologist said, okay, let's just keep waiting. Let's keep waiting. So I was feeling sicker and sicker. I was really, I was working and sleeping, it was all I was doing. But because my process went through really fairly quickly, I mean, after I was on the list, that I was able to stay off dialysis. And I think that's what's also helping me to be so healthy now that I was able to find a way to do it preemptively.

SPEAKER_00 15:28

Yeah. Can you talk a little bit about how you're feeling now and your health today?

SPEAKER_02 15:32

I just feel so grateful. Um, first of all, I have a renewed respect and compassion for those waiting and in need because I was lucky, but I know others are struggling through that, and I have a just have a renewed compassion for them. And I also have renewed life. I know God kept me here for a reason, and I tend to pay it forward as long as I'm here on this earth because I've gotten this gift.

SPEAKER_00 15:55

Yeah. I think it's a powerful thing to have for you as a transplant professional to have had this experience and the

Finding A Center That Says Yes

SPEAKER_00 16:02

insight that it gives you that I think that you can use in your work as invaluable.

SPEAKER_02 16:06

Absolutely. You know, first thing I did was go back to our office and say, what are we doing for the recipients? What are we doing for the donor families? Are we doing enough? Right. So definitely motivated me in that category.

SPEAKER_00 16:18

Is there anything that you learned about yourself going through the transplant experience twice that you'd like to share?

SPEAKER_02 16:24

I I think resilience. I think that I didn't realize how motivated and determined I was, that I really pushed and pushed. So I learned that about myself. And I wish I could transfer that to everyone. I know it's overwhelming.

SPEAKER_00 16:40

You were pushing the ball forward the whole time and and working with the system versus against it. And resilience is what I would describe you as.

SPEAKER_02 16:50

They would laugh at me uh when I would call. I was got all my testing done at Northwestern, and they said, Well, where do you want to do it? I was like, I don't care. I'll do it at any location, just the quickest appointment you can get for me.

SPEAKER_00 17:02

So that's interesting. So you did your testing at Northwestern, but went to Wisconsin for the transplant.

SPEAKER_02 17:08

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 17:08

How does that work?

SPEAKER_02 17:10

The reality is that Wisconsin, if I was going to have a deceased donor, Wisconsin has a two-year wait list for my blood type. And in Chicago, it was five years. So that's why and I had had my first transplant at University of Wisconsin. So that's why I made that choice.

SPEAKER_00 17:26

Wow. That's interesting. So that kind of gives us a lesson in dual listing or being mindful about where you get listed. Is there anything else you want to share about that?

SPEAKER_02 17:36

I did a lot of research on that as well. I called around. I've, you know, to various centers that I felt that I could get to because, you know, you have you get the call if you're getting it to see stoner, you have to know that you can get there in a few hours. So I looked in just my radius. I don't have the means to say I'm just gonna go anywhere. Get somewhere. So, and um, I kind of ranked them based on that. I think Chicago has an amazing, amazing transplant network. There's so many great hospitals here, but I had to look at that await time as well.

SPEAKER_00 18:08

Yeah. Well, I'm so glad all that worked out for you. Thank you. You've lived the transplant experience personally, and you also lead one of the country's largest iBanks.

SPEAKER_02 18:19

Sure. I work for Eversite, and we're an IBank that is has locations across the country and an additional one in South Korea.

SPEAKER_00 18:27

And you're CEO of Eversite, yes. Okay. And for listeners who might not know, what happens when somebody donates their corneas?

SPEAKER_02 18:35

Well, if donation is consented, then a recovery technician goes out, usually to the hospital, to recover the tissue and has to be recovered within 24 hours. The tissue is brought back to our office to evaluate for suitability for transplant. At the same time, we're checking the medical history to make sure there are no rules, getting blood results back for additional check to ensure the tissue is safe. We make every effort to show the tissue is cleared to be a gift to someone in need of renewed site. If the tissue is suitable, then we offer the tissue to a corneal surgeon. And if accepted, we proceed to process the tissue to the surgeon's specification for that specific patient. And we get the tissue out the door to arrive at the surgical facility in time for a scheduled surgery. Scheduled surgery is what's really amazing with cornea. We provided um 11,000 tissues last year for transplant alone and also 3,000 tissues for research and training. So if the tissue can't be used for transplant, we really want to make sure that it's used for research and education as well.

SPEAKER_00 19:39

Wow, that is truly inspirational and incredible. That's a lot of corneas.

SPEAKER_02 19:44

It is.

SPEAKER_00 19:45

So on our pre-call, you educated me because I was picturing if I donate my corneas, that you know, one day my niece or nephew might see my eyeballs in somebody else's head and be like, I think that's my aunt's eyes. And you corrected me. So tell me a little bit about what does it mean? What part of the eye is actually transplanted?

SPEAKER_02 20:03

Yeah, we get that question a lot. For example, a donor family might say, I hope Sypient gets my husband's beautiful blue eye.

SPEAKER_00 20:10

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. And I think I know about this stuff.

SPEAKER_02 20:14

The iris is what gives the eye the color, and that stays with the donor. We recover just a small amount of tissue, the surface of

Paired Exchange Logistics And Recovery

SPEAKER_02 20:21

the eye. It's a clear dime-shaped tissue that acts as a window into the eye, letting light in.

SPEAKER_00 20:27

Okay. And one of the things I think that's really cool about cornea transplants is the recovery time isn't as urgent. Can you talk a little bit about recovery times and how long they remain viable once they're removed?

SPEAKER_02 20:42

Sure. We have to recover within 24 hours, but we like to recover within 12. So that's our internal goal, but we can recover up to 24 hours. Tissue, corneal tissue expires in 15 days, but it's ideally used within 11 days studies show. But many US surgeons prefer to get the tissue much more quickly. So typically three to five days. So a lot of things have to happen. I talked about all those moving parts in our office. They have to happen very quickly to get that tissue off to the surgeon.

SPEAKER_00 21:14

So is the preference of three to five days because it's just fresher and it's going to work better? Does something happen around day 15 where it's not as good?

SPEAKER_02 21:24

It's still good, but there can be some swelling, which would take, you know, it makes it a little bit more difficult and a little bit extra time for healing. Patients want to see instant results, right? So we find that the tissue we send internationally that goes those long times does just as well. But if surgeon does it within, you know, within three to five days, that patient could be seeing the next morning.

SPEAKER_00 21:46

Wow, isn't that incredible?

SPEAKER_02 21:48

Yeah, it is.

SPEAKER_00 21:50

Does everyone who needs a cornea transplant get one in the U.S.?

SPEAKER_02 21:54

Yes, you're 10 times more likely to be a cornea donor than an organ donor as the tissue is avarium. Vascular, so no blood flow, just because it's the surface of the eye. So many rules for organs do not apply to cornea, including many types of cancer. Today, corneal surgeons can schedule with us. They say, I have a patient, I want to do the transplant on today. You know, we we need a few days. And we're able to supply that tissue for the surgery. No wait lists.

SPEAKER_00 22:22

Can you imagine if we could do that with kidneys?

SPEAKER_02 22:24

Wouldn't it be amazing? Wouldn't it be?

SPEAKER_00 22:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:27

Schedule a kidney.

SPEAKER_00 22:29

Schedule a kidney. So in reality, the I Bank is the only party that can recover the tissue. Why is that important for listeners to understand?

SPEAKER_02 22:40

So corneal transplants, as I said, help cure 10% of blinding eye conditions. But we also work with researchers on cures for other blinding eye conditions. Since the eye bank is doing all of the recoveries, we feel it's our mission to supply researchers with disease tissue to study and help find cures for all other blinding eye conditions. If we did it just for cornea, we wouldn't be helping the other parts of the eye that the disease parts of the eyes that need solutions as well.

SPEAKER_00 23:10

Oh, interesting. So how does consent work when corneas are the only tissue being recovered from somebody?

SPEAKER_02 23:19

The organ procurement partners that we work with do a wonderful job of getting consent for organ tissue and eye. So if it's more than eye, then the OPO does all of that, gets the consent, and then sends it over to us for the recovery. If it is that the only thing that qualifies for donation is the cornea, then they send it over to us, and then we start the process of working with the donor family, getting the medical social history before we proceed with recovery. So it's just a different process that we take depending on what the family has consented to or based on their medical history, what they're able to donate. So we do all the recoveries. So basically that they have a donor in their facility to do uh tissue donation, then we go to their OPO to do the eye recovery. Since we're we, you know, have the best knowledge and skills to do that. So we

Beating The Waitlist With Advocacy

SPEAKER_02 24:10

do both donors and individual eye donors. When we have an eye donor, we go out directly to that hospital or funeral home to do the recovery.

SPEAKER_00 24:19

Oh, interesting. Okay. Eversight operates in Connecticut, New Jersey, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Arizona, and South Korea. I like how South Korea is part of that. What does that footprint allow you to do?

SPEAKER_02 24:34

The network of IBANGS allows us to serve our community to the best of our ability. We have, you know, strategic locations across the country. And we want to honor donors' wishes and make sure as many possible donors get to have the legacy of living on through others and saving lives. So we want to maximize the donation. I think that with our network, we're able to do that very successfully. And even if we recover more in a state than is needed for that state, there are other states that need it. There are other IBANks that might need it. We can move it internationally. So we want to maximize donation. And then for our IBank in South Korea, it helps us to meet the needs of more patients internationally. Right now, we ship tissue over to our South Korea location. They reevaluate the tissue and then can distribute it from there.

SPEAKER_00 25:24

So how do you transport corneas internationally? Is it FedEx?

SPEAKER_02 25:28

Whatever works. Sometimes it's FedEx, but it's usually flights that a travel travels on. And we have different coolers. So we have 12-hour cools, 24-hour cools, 72-hour coolers. We also sometimes include trackers that make sure it stays at the right temperature as it's going across the country. So we've perfected it pretty well. We don't have very many mishaps. We have become logistics masters.

SPEAKER_00 25:54

I love logistics. And when it comes to moving body parts, it really fascinates me. It sounds like in the United States, a cornea transplant is super common. We aren't, you know, there's not a wait list for corneas. What about the rest of the world? How does this apply internationally?

SPEAKER_02 26:11

Yeah, it's really a part of our mission because we're meeting the need in the United States. And our excess tissue goes overseas, as there are 12 million people need of a transplant from corneal blindness worldwide. Um, and U.S. exports are not coming close to meeting the need. We can help less than 1%. But we have to say if we help 12 people this week, it's better than none. So many countries with strong I banks and donation systems like Italy, Canada, Australia, but there's so many more that don't have anything in place. Plus, countries have a lot of cultural and religious beliefs that they don't support donations. So the process has to also be helping to develop a positive attitude towards donation. It has to start with helping to educate and working with the governments there and things to educate the country about the positives of donation.

SPEAKER_00 27:03

Can you talk a little bit about the global education work, including your five-year partnership in Pakistan? Sure.

SPEAKER_02 27:11

Another part of our mission is to help countries build capacity, provide their own countries with the need of corneal tissue. It's a long process, a really long process, to have a donation system in place, sometimes 10 to 20 years. It's really, you know, to really change the culture. And that's the biggest issue. But we've been in packaged hand for some time. We've helped them build a culture of donation, along with help them start four i banks across the country. Our goal is to be able to walk away and have them be self-sustaining. And we look to do that in other countries as well. But we also think is important that we have to train the surgeons. So our training and education program that we have is also something we do around the world.

SPEAKER_00 27:54

I'm curious what you're doing to shift a culture. Like, why Pakistan? Let's start there. Like, what was bright and shiny about Pakistan where you thought this is a country that we could truly help self-sustain their own corneotransplant program?

SPEAKER_02 28:08

Pakistan at a government level really wanted to do this. And so you need someone within the country that's going to help to drive the donation process. They were believers in donation and they were willing to really have billboards and messages across the country, really trying to build that positive, sharing the stories, all the marketing things we've probably done in the US to really make people understand the positivity of it. And you need a country that's willing to do that in order to be successful. And so Pakistan was one of those countries that said, we need help, will you help us?

SPEAKER_00 28:45

So was Korea kind of like Pakistan where they wanted help and Eversight was able to help support?

SPEAKER_02 28:52

South Korea is an Eversight-owned IBank. So that was that we

Cornea Donation Explained Without Myths

SPEAKER_02 28:58

they were really struggling, but they wanted us to come in and do it versus Pakistan was like help them do it. And actually, we're in the process now of changing that in to being an Eversight's IBank to Alliance Korea I Bank and also just working on the education of the community for donation. There's also a uh strange law in Korea. Well, I think it's strange law is that only a doctor can recover any organs or tissues. So, therefore, you know, how many doctors have time and are trained enough to be able to go and do a corneal retrieval? So we're working on changing the law so that our recovery team can do the recoveries.

SPEAKER_00 29:41

Wow, that is fascinating. The difference between saying, okay, we're going to set up Eversight in South Korea versus we're going to teach Pakistan how to do this on their own. Do you see benefits to one over the other or just different? Or can you talk a little bit about those two different strategies to get more people transplanted?

SPEAKER_02 30:00

We look at the country. We really evaluate the country itself and decide what would be the best action for that country. We wanted a distribution center in South Korea so that could help us internationally, but we don't want them all over in every country. Our main objective mostly is to develop a country to be self-sufficient.

SPEAKER_00 30:22

And what big things are on your in your plans for the next few years with Eversight and growing Eversight to get more people transplanted?

SPEAKER_02 30:30

So in South Korea, we're spending a lot of time there right now to move it to a local IBAN and changing the laws so that we can move that forward. We're also working on a project in UAE. We've been talking to people in Vietnam. So we look at where the need is and where it can be most successful and we proceed with that.

SPEAKER_00 30:51

So you've experienced transplant as a recipient and lead a major donation organization. What do you wish Diane, the public understood about donation?

SPEAKER_02 31:02

That donation saves and enhanced lives. Um, if you have concerns, call and talk to someone about it and really understand your family's wishes. It makes that make that decision so much easier for you if you if someone you love pass. Um and that living donation works. And it's such a beautiful alternative to waiting for a deceased donor. Although tough, work through the process and call others to help to navigate the system. It really takes a village to get this process done.

SPEAKER_00 31:32

It does. And you are proof that it's possible. What gives you hope right now?

SPEAKER_02 31:38

What gives me hope is that I work with so many organizations across the world that are trying to change the world, to give people their lives back to work and prosper. And more and more people are open to donation, especially when they see how it's changed lives for others. So I encourage anyone who's gone through the process to talk, talk about their story, talk about what a success it has for you to really shine a light on the positivity of donation overall.

SPEAKER_00 32:06

That gives me hope too. And how can listeners learn more about Eversight or become donors if if they're not already?

SPEAKER_02 32:14

All right. Um, individuals can share their stories, they can give, they can volunteer, they can join the registry. You can have a direct impact on making vision a reality for people here and around the world. You can go to Eversightvision.org forward slash get involved to learn more and choose what your path might be. Everyone's different as to what they can do or want to do, but get involved.

SPEAKER_00 32:40

Okay, and I'll put that link in our show notes for any listeners who would like to check it out. To our listeners, thank you so much for joining us for this episode of Donor Diaries. Diane's story is a powerful reminder that understanding your options and advocating for yourself can truly change the course of a transplant journey. If you would like to learn more about cornea donation, kidney paired exchange, or the organizations discussed in today's

Global Eye Banking And How To Help

SPEAKER_00 33:06

episode, please visit the show notes for additional resources and information. We'll have lots of great links there. This season of Donor Diaries is sponsored by Giftworks, an organization dedicated to education, advocacy, and support for both organ recipients and living donors. Giftworks celebrates the courage it takes to ask for help and the miraculous ways help often answers. Within this growing community, recipients, families, and donors all come together to participate in a transformative exchange that reminds us of the power of human connection. Visit yourgiftworks.com to learn more. Remember, keep exploring what is beautiful and what is meaningful. This is Lori Lee signing off.