It is with deep sorrow that EBAA announces the passing of Michelle K. Rhee, MD.
Dr. Rhee was the Medical Director for The Eye-Bank for Sight Restoration and member of the 2024-2026 EBAA Board of Directors. She also recently served on EBAA’s Medical Advisory Board, as Co-Chair of the Accreditation Board, and was the inaugural Editor-in-Chief of EBAA’s journal, Eye Banking and Corneal Transplantation.
Earlier this month, during the Cornea and Eye Banking Forum, we announced Dr. Rhee as the recipient of the 2027 R. Townley Paton Award – EBAA’s highest honor for corneal physicians, given for her extraordinary support for eye banking and the association.
Dr. Rhee once said, “Eye banking is like a family, with a lot of cultivation of high standards in service of patients. What makes EBAA outstanding is the collaboration between eye banking professionals and physicians for a common goal. It’s a very unique association in medicine.”
Beyond her contributions to medicine and eye banking, Dr. Rhee had great appreciation for the arts and was an accomplished pianist.
We will remember Dr. Rhee fondly for her talent and skill as a physician, her calm demeanor and sweet disposition, and her dedication to the restoration of sight worldwide.
As we absorb this profound loss to our profession and community, we send our sincerest condolences to her family, friends, loved ones, and colleagues, especially those at The Eye-Bank for Sight Restoration.
