Noël Mick earns Leonard Heise Award for dedication to eye banking, corneal transplantation, and the restoration of sight.
Washington, DC—The Eye Bank Association of America (EBAA), the world’s oldest transplantation association and nationally-recognized accrediting and standards setting body for eye banks, today announced Noël Mick of New York’s Eye-Bank for Sight Restoration as the recipient of 2025 Leonard Heise Award. The Heise Award is the association’s most prestigious honor presented to an eye banker in recognition of their outstanding devotion to the eye banking profession and for exemplifying the precepts of Leonard Heise, one of EBAA’s founders.
“For thirty-five years, Noël has dedicated herself to the restoration of sight,” said EBAA President & CEO, Kevin Corcoran. “Her dozen years on the EBAA Board of Directors, including her time as Chair during the COVID-19 pandemic, and service on EBAA committees and organizations throughout the transplant community, are just a small part of her greater service to eye banking, corneal transplantation, and the transformation of lives through eye donation.”
There are an estimated 12 million individuals around the world suffering from corneal blindness that could be corrected with a corneal transplant. There is no artificial cornea—the transplantation process depends on the priceless gift of donation from one human to another. Nearly anyone can be a cornea donor, as blood-type, eye color, vision quality, and age are not relevant to donation.
EBAA will present the 2025 Heise Award to Noël Mick at the 2025 EBAA Annual Meeting in San Diego during an awards luncheon on Friday, June 27.
The Eye Bank Association of America (EBAA), established in 1961, is the oldest donation and transplantation association in the U.S. It sets medical standards, provides education, oversees professional certifications, and engages in advocacy to support eye donation, cornea transplantation, and research. Since EBAA’s founding, member eye banks have provided tissue for nearly 2.5 million sight-restoring corneal transplants. To learn more, visit restoresight.org.