About Us

Sierra Donor Services Eye Bank (SDSEB) is a nonprofit donor network facilitating the gift of sight in the states of California, New Mexico, Nevada, and Tennessee. SDSEB is part of the DCI Donor Services, Inc. family of organ and tissue procurement organizations.

Our core purpose is to “save and improve lives.”

We do this by fostering an environment where selfless professionals are committed to life-changing work; our performance is measured by the impact we have on those who make transplant possible and those whose life is enhanced by these gifts. By supporting a local focus on donors, donor families, and the lives of those we impact, being a stable community member and putting patients first we can maximize the Gift of Sight.

“Nothing can replace that human-to-human interaction.”

Jennifer Li
Associate Professor of Ophthalmology, UC Davis, CA Medical Director, SDSEB, Sacramento, CA

Our history

At SDSEB, we’ve proudly been providing the Gift of Sight in our communities for over four decades. Our first eye bank was founded in 1975 by the UC Davis Department of Ophthalmology and the Northern California Lions Sight Association. Services quickly expanded to include musculoskeletal, skin, and cardiovascular banking in the 1980s, and in 1996, UC Davis transferred their donation program to DCI Donor Services, changing the name to Sierra Eye and Tissue Donor Services.

The Lions Eye Bank of Middle Tennessee was founded in 1990 to serve those in the state of Tennessee. The eye bank merged with DCI Donor Services in 1999, becoming Tennessee Donor Services. Eye bank operations for both regions merged in 2012, and in 2014, DCI Donor Services created a new division, Sierra Donor Services Eye Bank.

First-rate facilities

Each of our laboratories features state-of-the-art equipment to ensure the safety of tissue being processed.

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Leadership

Our dedicated professionals are committed to providing the best ocular care possible.

Sam Ramos
Alyssa Hernandez
Tiffany Ramirez
Faith Spann

Sam Ramos

Executive Director

Alyssa Hernandez

Director of Marketing and Development

Tiffany Ramirez

Operations Manager

Faith Spann

Quality Manager

Our Medical Directors

Mark Mannis, MD
Jennifer Li, MD
Erich B. Groos Jr., MD
Caleb Morris, MD
Uyen L. Tran, MD

Mark Mannis, MD

UC Davis Professor, Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology, Vision Science and Director of the UC Davis Health System Eye Center

Jennifer Li, MD

Director, Cornea and External Disease Service; Professor, Department of Ophthalmology at UC Davis Health System Eye Center

Erich B. Groos Jr., MD

Founding Partner of Cornea Consultants of Nashville and Medical Director of the Eye Surgery Center of Nashville

Caleb Morris, MD

Cornea & cataract surgery specialist at Nevada Eye Consultants

Uyen L. Tran, MD

Professor of Ophthalmology, Cornea Division Chief for the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at Vanderbilt Eye Institute

DEI is integral to everything we do – we strive to be a place of fairness, belonging, and forward thinking.

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