• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • EBCT Journal
  • eyeLEARN
  • Find an Eye Bank
  • Member Login
EBAA

EBAA

We restore sight worldwide

  • Home
  • About
        • About EBAA
        • EBAA is the nationally-recognized accrediting and standards setting body for eye banks.

          • Mission & Vision
          • Board of Directors
          • History
          • Staff
          • Governing Documents
          • Committees
        • View our History Timeline!

  • Members
        • Members
        • We serve our members through a variety of services, resources, education, and much more.

          • Eye Bank Membership
          • Accreditation
          • Paton Society Membership
          • Certification
          • Grants & Scholarships
          • Publications
          • Awards
        • Learn more about the benefits of membership

  • Cornea Donation
        • Cornea Donation
        • Since 1961, EBAA member eye banks have provided tissue for more than 2 million sight restoring, life-changing corneal transplants.

          • Register as a Donor
          • FAQs
          • Regístrese para ser donante
          • What is an eye bank?
          • Common Corneal Diseases
          • The Donation Process
          • Other Uses for Corneas
        • Learn more about the donation process and what eye banks do

  • Events & Observances
        • Events & Observances
          • Events Calendar
          • EBAA Annual Meeting

        • Join us this June in Dallas!

  • News & Stories
        • News & Stories
          • Members in the News
          • Recipient Stories
          • Press Releases
          • Donor Stories
        • Share your donation story today!

News & Stories

Alan Taylor

August 10, 2017

Photo of Alan Taylow

Growing up in Colorado, my favorite sports were baseball and mountain biking. As most kids do, I dreamt of playing professional sports. Unfortunately, during my senior year of high school, I found it almost impossible to hit a baseball and I had difficulty in judging plays in the field. Due to these visual difficulties, my years of playing ball were over. Prior to my freshman year of college I was diagnosed with bilateral keratoconus. I recall a visit to the “family” eye doctor and the doctor telling my mother that I may have keratoconus. He asked her if anyone in our family was blind. That was a scary conversation for a soon to be a college freshman!

Over the next 21 years, I struggled with bilateral keratoconus. I wore eye glasses with bifocals during my college years and eventually started wearing hard contacts in my early twenties to correct my vision. As the keratoconus advanced, it became more difficult to keep contacts from popping out, resulting in lots of lost contacts.

After years of losing contacts and progressive vision loss in my left eye, it was determined that a corneal transplant was the only means to restore vision in my left eye. At the time, my vision in my left eye was two fingers at approximately four to six inches. In the fall of 1995, Richard Grutzmacker, MD, in Sacramento, CA, completed my first penetrating kerotoplasty corneal transplant. My first transplant was a gift from an 18 year old woman killed in an automobile accident.

Following the transplant, my vision was restored with minor corrections achieved with contacts. On Labor Day 2004, in an effort to miss a rattle snake in my path, I had a severe mountain biking accident in the desert outside Scottsdale, AZ. The accident resulted in the rupture of my left eye, loss of my intraocular lens and complete vision loss. Throughout 2004 and 2005, I worked with Jung Dao, MD, in Phoenix, AZ, to save my eye. In the fall of 2005, I had my second penetrating kerotoplasty corneal transplant and a lens implant. The surgery restored my vision. With the support of contacts, I now have 20/20 vision! My second cornea was a generous gift from a 75 year old man in Phoenix.

In May 2007, I was able to join the tremendous team at Donor Network of Arizona, the eye bank for the state. As Director of Tissue Services, I am fortunate to work with highly dedicated staff in the Eye Bank. Due to my vision struggles, I understand the importance of each individual transplant surgery. As a corneal transplant recipient, I like to share my story and how eye donation touches the lives of the recipients and their families. My vision loss limited my ability to participate in many activities. After my transplants, I was able to coach soccer, baseball and basketball with my sons and daughter and I was able to return to mountain biking.

As an eye bank professional, I would like others to know the healing power of organ, tissue and eye donation.  Throughout the year, Donor Network of Arizona has multiple donation events to honor the real heroes of donation, the donor families and donors who registered to be an organ, tissue and eye donor. I am fortunate to have the opportunity to speak with donor families and find that the generous gift of donation helps them heal and recover from their loss. I’m always amazed how proud families are of their loved one’s generous gift of donation.

I encourage everyone to consider organ, tissue and eye donation and to speak to family and friends about donation.

Read more on: Recipient Stories

More News & Stories

Alan Berdahl
You can have the best surgeon in the world, and I think I had one,' says Alan. 'But without that graft, without that tissue, the surgery doesn’t happen. This does not happen without that donor and the people who recover the tissue.
Matt
In a time of sorrow, knowing Matt was still a selfless hero meant so much to his family. We take great comfort in know that somewhere out there are two individuals have the gift of sight because of Matt’s donation. Perhaps they, too, have a different perspective because of the view.

Footer

1101 17th Street NW
Suite 400
Washington DC 20036

phone 202.775.4999
fax 202.429.6036

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Connect

  • Contact
  • Share your Story
  • Career Center
  • For the Media
  • Support EBAA

Tools

  • Find an Eye Bank
  • Online Store
  • Advocacy
  • COVID-19 Updates

Our Sites

  • eyeLEARN
  • ONE
  • The Lens
  • eStatIS
  • OARRS
  • EBCT Journal

In Partnership

© 2023 EBAA. All Rights Reserved. Disclaimer | Privacy Policy.
EBAA is a 501(c)(3) organization. EIN 72-0678970

A Decrease font size. A Reset font size. A Increase font size.