Iowa Lions Eye Bank hosts event at 2 p.m. today

IOWA CITY — The Iowa Lions Eye Bank hosts a Celebration of Hope & Renewal — an event honoring eye, organ and tissue donors who transform the lives of others through the gift of sight and life — at 2 p.m. today.

The event takes place at the Iowa Lions Donor Memorial & Healing Garden on the campus of the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

The event is to feature an array of inspirational speakers, including Andrea Carlson, the mother of a 14-month-old cornea recipient. Her son Joseph was born blind with a rare condition called Peter's Anomaly, a disease that causes corneas to be clouded at birth. Joseph received the gift of sight through cornea transplant over one year ago, thanks to a generous donor.

'I am always amazed and inspired at the many ways our recipients express their gratitude for their donors' gift,' said Deb Schuett, Family Services Coordinator at the Iowa Lions Eye Bank. 'And, I am equally inspired by the hope and healing donor families experience during the grieving process, knowing their gift went on to help another person lead a better life.'

More than 250 people are expected to attend the event. In case of inclement weather, the event is to be moved to the hospital's Braley Auditorium, Room 01136 PFP.

Founded in 1955 with support from the Iowa Lions, the Iowa Lions Eye Bank is a non-profit service organization dedicated to the restoration and preservation of sight through the recovery, processing and distribution of human ocular tissue for transplantation and research, primarily in Iowa, but also throughout the world.