Recipient Stories

As my body began to accept my donor’s cornea, I felt like I was watching a miracle occur from the inside out. Prior to my transplant I didn’t realize my children had freckles – now I could see them and I couldn’t stop staring! Before I just saw grass, but now I could see actual grass blades!

Danny’s doctor recommended corneal transplant surgery, and within a week, surgery was performed on one eye, resulting in near 20/20 vision. A few years later, Danny had surgery on his second eye. His vision had been saved by two donors, and he felt it was his calling to give back through organ donation.

Dr. Maisha Gray Diggs suffered from a progressive eye disease that caused her vision to be blurry and distorted, making daily tasks very difficult. She became legally blind at the age of 26, but her vision was restored thanks to a double-corneal transplant.

Thanks to a generous donor, Colton received a sight-restoring cornea transplant. Today, he isn’t scared to do any of the things he loves, like swimming and riding four-wheelers with his cousins or playing quarterback with his brothers during football.

As my health improved, my eyesight in my surgically repaired cornea got stronger. With that, [I found] the push to understand and live a healthy lifestyle. Not only did this transplant help me take back my vision: It propelled me to a new way of living!

Vince received a double cornea transplant in 2010 and 2011. His gift of sight allowed him to pursue a career as a barber, opening two barbershops within one year and now working on a third, which wouldn’t have been possible without his corneal transplants. He is most proud of being able to coach his son’s baseball teams.

My name is Sarah.  I am 37 years old and I am so blessed to have my family, my friends, God and the kindness of a stranger who changed my […]

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.

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.

“Vision was a gift from two people, and I needed to do something with it,” he said, explaining that the two organ donors who provided his corneas inspired him to start reclaiming his former active lifestyle.