Iowa Lions Eye Bank

02/26/2026

Have you signed up for the See the Green Indoor Golf Tournament yet? Early registration ends March 17.

02/18/2026

We were proud to join forces last week at the Iowa Capitol with Iowa Donor Network, ImpactLife, LifeServe Blood Center, University of Iowa DeGowin Blood Center, and NMDP to raise awareness of eye, organ, tissue, blood and marrow donation. Five people associated with donation spoke about how it has changed their lives:
• Alma Brunson, Muscatine, mother of tissue and eye donor Micaela Brunson, and blood donation advocate
• Ginger Whitmore, Ankeny, who received a double lung transplant in February 2022
• Beth Ades, Webster City, who received blood and bone marrow transplants for Myelodysplastic Syndrome
• Paula Lofgren, wife of Sen. Mark Lofgren, R-Muscatine, and blood donation advocate
• Rep. Jennifer Konfrst, D-West Des Moines, cornea recipient, and anatomical donation advocate

Thank you everyone who came out, including lawmakers, state officials, donation advocates, friends and representatives of the Student Organ Donation Advocates (SODA) organization and the Iowa State chapter of Delta Gamma!

02/17/2026

Important announcement!

Save the date for Friday, April 17 for our See the Green Indoor Golf Fundraiser at X-Golf Coralville.

No clubs or golf experience required. X-Golf has free loaner clubs and the simulators have a "beginner assist" feature that can be activated to improve your golfing abilities.

Don't want to golf? Come hang out, grab a bite to eat and a drink! X-Golf will generously be donating 10 percent of all food and beverage sales throughout the event to support ILEB.

Link to register in comments!

02/17/2026

We ❤️ our young eye donation advocate Mackie! Check out her philanthropic project!

02/09/2026

Let's crowd the rotunda!

We hope to see you all THIS THURSDAY from 2:30 to 4:30 pm in the first floor rotunda at the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines! We are teaming up with Iowa Donor Network, ImpactLife, LifeServe Blood Center, University of Iowa DeGowin Blood Center and NMDP to celebrate National Donor Day, raise awareness of anatomical donation, and encourage all to perform the ultimate act of Iowa Nice- healing and saving lives!

Among those speaking will be:
• Alma Brunson, Muscatine, mother of tissue and eye donor Micaela Brunson, and blood donation advocate
• Ginger Whitmore, Ankeny, who received a double lung transplant in February 2022
• Beth Ades, Webster City, who received blood and bone marrow transplants 5 years ago for Myelodysplastic Syndrome
• Paula Lofgren, wife of Sen. Mark Lofgren, R-Muscatine, blood donation advocate
• Rep. Jennifer Konfrst, D-West Des Moines, cornea recipient, and anatomical donation advocate

National Donor Day, established in 1998, is observed annually on February 14. It is dedicated to raising awareness, registering new donors, and honoring those who have saved and healed lives through donation. In 2025 alone,
• 981 Iowans were cornea or whole eye donors, with 806 corneas transplanted
• 124 Iowans were organ donors, with 376 organs transplanted
• 1,308 Iowans were tissue donors
• 5,500 Iowans donated blood and platelets to patients at UI Health Care and Stead Family Children’s Hospital
• More than 100,000 Iowans gave the gift of blood and platelets through ImpactLife, DeGowin Blood Center and Lifeserve Blood Center

In Iowa alone, 637 people are awaiting an organ transplant. One donor can give the gift of life to 8 people, the gift of sight to two people, and countless others through tissue and blood donation.

02/06/2026

Can you make this out?

More than 3 million Americans are living with a visual impairment that cannot be fixed with glasses, surgery, or other traditional treatments.

February is Low Vision Awareness Month, and we acknowledge that we still have a long way to go to completely restore and preserve sight.

By agreeing to be an eye donor, you can join the fight to find solutions to low vision and blindness.

02/05/2026

🇺🇸USA! USA! 🥇UVP? 😎

That's right, ULTRAVIOLET PROTECTION is still important even in the dead of winter on a gray cloudy day. Those pesky rays can still damage your eyes when you're on the slopes partaking in a little winter fun. 🕶️

As we prepare to cheer on our athletes in the Olympic Winter Games in Italy, remember that skiing, snowboarding, hockey and even sledding can put your eyes at risk through snow blindness, flying debris and unexpected impacts. 🏒🥅🛷⛸️🥌⛷️🏂

Wear goggles with 100% UV protection (UVA/UVB) and ensure they fit securely when you're wearing a helmet, and remember that putting eye drops in can help combat dry, irritated eyes.

02/03/2026

In Iowa City? Look up! 👀

Apurva Dusane, a PhD student at University of Iowa, is featured on a banner across from the Senior Center downtown as part of this spring's Dare to Discover campaign, showcasing student and postdoc researchers, scholars, and creators from across the University of Iowa. 💪

Dusane is working with an Iowa Lions Eye Bank team developing non-invasive topical drug delivery systems to treat Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy.

Her research has earned numerous recognitions at prestigious international competitions, including the Dissolution Research Presentations International (DRPI)–World and Boehringer Emerging Scientist Talent (BEST) Program.

02/02/2026

Can you help?

We are seeking highly motivated, independent recovery technicians to work the 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. shift, based in Coralville.

Link in comments!

01/29/2026

Our 2025 Impact Snapshot 👁️

• 981 cornea and whole eye donors
• 806 transplant recipients in 23 U.S. states and 14 countries worldwide (see maps)
• Our oldest donor was 104 and the youngest donor was 9. The average age of our donors was 64.
• More than 60 percent of Iowa's cornea and whole eye donors were registered donors.
• More than half (53.2 percent) of cornea and whole eye donors also gave the gift of tissue and/or organ donation.

Thank you for helping us restore sight and change lives!

01/28/2026

This week is National Coroner and Medicolegal Death Investigator Week. We are deeply grateful for the medical examiners and medical examiner investigators throughout the state who work to determine causes and manner of deaths, provide closure to families, and help honor the wish to donate sight.

01/28/2026

In Iowa, UnityPoint Health, Sanford Health, Mary Greeley Medical Center, Mercy Cedar Rapids and University of Iowa Health Care patients can register as eye, organ and tissue donors via MyChart.

Donate Life America is excited to share that more than 130,000 people have registered their decision to become organ, eye and tissue donors through MyChart, the nation’s most widely used patient portal. DLA began its close collaboration with Epic MyChart in May 2025 to improve the donor registration experience. Patients have embraced this innovative and private pathway to resounding effect.
"Reaching more than 130,000 registrations is a monumental milestone and a source of hope for the more than 100,000 people in the United States currently waiting for a transplant. Every one of these registrations represents hope for patients on the national transplant waiting list." –David Fleming, President & CEO of Donate Life America 💙💚

Read more about this milestone here: https://donatelife.net/news/more-than-130000-individuals-register-to-save-lives-through-mychart-donor-registration-initiative/