In late March, the Kentucky state legislature passed, and governor subsequently signed, a new law prohibiting for-profit eye banking in the commonwealth.
EBAA commends Kentucky for being on the forefront of protecting public trust in corneal donation and transplantation, and hopes other states follow suit.
This law assures:
- The altruistic gift of sight from generous donors and their families is being protected from private gain
- Corneal surgeons can trust that investors are not profiting from the tissue they are transplanting
- The donor’s wishes are being appropriately honored
- Remaining proceeds from recovery, processing, and transplantation are channeled into research, education, and public awareness – not shareholder profits
- Grieving families can trust that donated tissue is not treated as a commodity
EBAA member eye banks are non-profit organizations with a common mission to restore sight worldwide. Founded in 1961, EBAA is the world’s oldest transplant association and is the nationally-recognized accrediting and standards setting body for eye banks. 2021 marks the “diamond” anniversary of EBAA – 60 years of leadership and innovation in the field of eye banking, cornea donation, and cornea transplantation.