My Technician Education Seminar Experience
Joseph Monahan, CTBS, New England Donor Services
I’m amazed at the amount of important information I learned at the 2021 TES. It was eye opening to hear about what goes into processing and transplantation post recovery. I learned about the vast amount of options for restoring sight and the incredible skill set needed by processing technicians to produce these grafts. I gained deeper knowledge about how different types of diseases effect sight and the advancement in technology and procedures for restoring sight. I learned a lot more about the evaluation that each cornea receives prior to transplant. It was extremely helpful to find out about different practices other eye banks use to maximize the gift of sight.
I’m honored to have had the opportunity to participate, and I’m looking forward to sharing what I’ve learned with my staff at New England Donor Services.
Reflections on Attending the Technician Education Seminar
Kendra Philippy, Lions Medical Eye Bank & Research Center of Eastern Virginia
The TES was just as informative and interesting as I had hoped it would be. I’ve been in eye banking for 6 years now, working mostly remotely as a donor coordinator until recently. My roles have been changing, requiring me to learn new steps in the donation process including tissue evaluation, tissue processing, and distribution.
The modules and time spent on slit lamp usage was especially useful for me. I’m training to evaluate tissue currently, and some things, such as a Descemet’s tear, I haven’t experienced yet during training. So, seeing images of various slit lamp findings were very helpful.
All the staff involved did a wonderful job and provided great information. Despite the obvious issue of not being able to hold this seminar in person, I think the program was surprisingly interactive, entertaining, and enjoyable.