VOL State Eye Banking Experience

by alyssahernandez | Mar 20, 2024 | Education

We are proud to partner with Dr. Cornish and the Ophthalmic Technician Program at VOL State to share more information with their students about eye donation. Nearly ten students came to visit our Nashville location for a full day experience. The students were able to learn more about our organizations structure and connection to organ procurement organizations, job opportunities at DCI, the recovery of corneas, preparation of tissue for physicians, and the gift of sight through laboratory tours and educational demonstrations. 

Orientation began with an overview of DCI Donor Services, Inc and the dedicated divisions of the organization that help save and improve lives in local communities around the world. We then continued to discuss the eligibility and quality assurance requirements of donation before recovery. Faith, our Ocular Quality Assurance Manager, shared more about the importance of her role with donor screening, medical chart review, and the importance of respecting our donors wishes.

After sharing more about the company history and quality assurance process, our team was then able to expand on the donation process and protocols. The students were excited to see an ocular demonstration with our tissue recovery staff.

Following the tissue recovery presentation and fellowship over lunch, the last two demonstrations of the day were watching our ocular technicians, Leketa and Alan, perform DSAEK cut and DMEK peel. The students were able to ask questions about the processes and understand how the tissue is processed before corneal transplant surgeries.

We felt grateful to be able to share and be a part of the educational experience for the ophthalmic technician students at VOL State. Thank you to Dr. Cornish and her team, we look forward to next year!