Bringing SIGHT to the needlessly blind

Eyesight International provides hope and vision to the curable corneal blind in lower- and middle-income countries.

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You can help cure blindness

ESI is the only charity in the world that focuses exclusively on corneal transplantation and eye banking. Our achievements are unique.

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Why we help

Over 12.5 million people are needlessly Corneal Blind

More than 12.5 million people are needlessly corneal blind. More than 1.5 million, including 350,000 infants, become corneal blind every year, with profound impacts on caregivers as well as the blind. Over 95% live in lower- and middle-income countries. Corneal transplants can cure 80% of them.
ESI provides a way.

How weʼre helping them

WE PROVIDE EXPERTISE

ESI focuses on access to quality corneal transplants and eye banking. We work with local partners to provide education, training and creation of locally sustainable resources for the corneal blind.

Eye Banking

Eye Banking

Eye banking involves identifying appropriate deceased donors, obtaining consent from the donor family, collecting tissues, and assessing and processing.
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Corneal Transplantation

Corneal Transplantation

Corneal transplantation replaces diseased or scarred portions of the cornea, which is normally clear. This is similar to changing a camera lens. It is approximately 12 mm in diameter.
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Education and Training

Education and Training

A successful corneal transplantation program requires education and training for healthcare professionals, including surgeons, eye bank managers, technicians and counsellors.
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There is no better way to thank God for your sight than by giving a helping hand to someone in the dark.

– Helen Keller

History

OUR RECENT ACHIEVEMENTS

ESI’s achievements are unique. We focus exclusively on
corneal transplantation and eye banking and are guided by principles of quality, not profit, and access for all those in need.

Education of Health Care Professionals

ESI and its partners have trained more eye surgeons in corneal transplantation than any other eye care educational institution in the world. More than 50% of our corneal specialists in training are women.

Corneal Transplantation

For this procedure, eye surgeons require special training in the surgery itself and patient follow-up. ESI and its partners have established the largest corneal transplantation service in the world in Hyderabad, India. On average, surgeons there perform more than 2,700 corneal transplants a year. This is more than in all of Canada annually.

Eye Banking

ESI has provided expertise and planning from the national to the local level to achieve successful eye banking programs. For example, in Hyderabad, India, ESI has worked with partners to establish the largest eye bank in the world, with more than 5,000 corneas available for transplant surgeries per year.

Transfer of Expertise

ESI has provided expertise within its mandate since 1992. It pioneered hospital-based donation programs, which have become the foundation of eye banking in all lower- and middle-income countries. In 2020, ESI and partners developed a management information program, which will eventually be available to all eye banks in LMICs.

Lv Prasad Eye Institute circa 2014
THE MAN BEHIND ESI’s VISION

Dr. Paul J. Dubord,
1951-2022

With great sadness, we share news that Eyesight International founder Paul Joseph Dubord, MD, FRCSC, OC, passed away Monday, September 5, in Vancouver following a short, intense battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 71.

Learn more about Dr. Paul Dubord and his vision.

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WHAT MAKES US PROUD

WHAT’s NEW

LATEST NEWS & STORIES

Dr. Paul Dubord Memorial Award

Dr. Paul Dubord Memorial Award

On Dec.15, 2022, the UBC Department of Ophthalmology in Vancouver inaugurated the presentation of the annual Dr. ...
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Dr. Paul J. Dubord, Eyesight International founder 1951-2022

Dr. Paul J. Dubord, Eyesight International founder 1951-2022

With great sadness, we share news that Eyesight International founder Paul Joseph Dubord, MD, FRCSC, OC, passed ...
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Dr Umang Mathur

Dr Umang Mathur

Dr Umang MathurEyesight International (ESI) FellowCornea-Anterior Segment, LVPEIJanuary 1997- January 1998 Post ...
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Dr María Agustina Borrone

Dr María Agustina Borrone

Buenos Aires, Argentina I decided to become an ophthalmologist when I was very young. After medical school, I ...
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The Value of Partnership in Working in LMIC

The Value of Partnership in Working in LMIC

In 1989 I embarked on my first trip to a LMIC to undertake Eye Banking and Corneal transplantation as a member of a team going to Karachi, Pakistan.
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How Did Eyesight International [ESI] Begin?

How Did Eyesight International [ESI] Begin?

"In the early 1990s, prior to the founding of ESI, Dr. Dubord had worked in Japan, Pakistan, China, and India ...
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TESTIMONIALS

THOSE WE HELP

ESI is a world authority not only for the problems of addressing corneal disease in the developing world but also the mechanisms or process to achieve progress in often difficult political and economic environments.

Professor John Marshall

MBE, PhD, DSc, FMedSCI, FRCPath, FRSB. Frost Professor of Ophthalmology, Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, Emeritus Professor King’s College , London

ESI programs have had an impact beyond patient needs. For instance the progress of cornea banking in India has influenced legislation and oversight in the whole field of tissue and organ transplantation.

Docteur Luc Noel

Retired Coordinator Clinical Procedures

The contribution of Eyesight International in building capacity through development of eye banks and training of corneal surgeons was pioneering and created the much-needed momentum to tackle this malady.

Nag [Gullapalli ] Rao

Chair of the LV Prasad Eye Institute Hyderabad , India

WE’re NOT ALONE

MEET OUR PARTNERS

Branch of International Surgery - UBC

BIS was created to advance comprehensive surgical care to all those in need Nationally and Internationally.

PARTNER SINCE 2010

LV Prasad Eye Institute

The LVPEI is one of the Premier Eye Institutes in the world. The institute is a WHO collaborator centre for the prevention of blindness.

PARTNER SINCE 1990

International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness

IAPB is the WHO affiliate organization promoting comprehensive eye-care for all in the world

PARTNER SINCE 2002
YOU CAN HELP TOO

Help us help the blind

ESI plans to expand its programs to other parts of the LMIC where the needs are dramatic with millions of needlessly corneal blind that have no access to corneal transplantation. Become a champion and an advocate of ESI by sharing this organization’s goals and achievements with your family and friends. Furthermore, you may donate directly to our programs.

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