About Us: Why this site was created.

We are the Midwest Eye-Banks and Transplantation Center (MEBTC), serving residents of Illinois, Michigan and Northwest Ohio. For decades, our not-for-profit organization has coordinated eye and corneal tissue donation, recovery, transportation, evaluation and distribution for surgical transplants to those in need. It is a complex series of events that take place for the sole purpose of preserving or restoring someone’s precious eyesight. This Web site is a tribute to the one person without whom none of these sight-saving measures would be possible: the donor.

Perhaps it’s one of your parents or grandparents who gave the Gift of Sight. If you’ve lost a child, you may have faced the difficult decision to donate her or his eye tissue for the benefit of someone you’ve never met. Maybe you had a close friend whose donated eye tissue is now helping someone to see. Or maybe you are a transplant recipient yourself, and your restored vision is a gift from a stranger. Whatever the case, this site is dedicated to that special person.

We wanted to create a community wherein donor family members and friends throughout Illinois and Michigan could celebrate the lives of their loved ones who gave the Gift of Sight. We invite you to share memories, stories, photos, poems or anything that might help us to know them better. It is also our hope that honoring the life of that special person can bring comfort to you.

MEBTC: Who We Are

The Michigan Eye-Bank and the Illinois Eye-Bank are known corporately as MEBTC, the Midwest Eye-Banks and Transplantation Center. Informally, we refer to ourselves as the Eye-Bank.

Our mission is the restoration of sight. In order to fulfill this mission, the Eye-Bank provides corneal tissue for transplantation, supports eye and vision research and promotes public awareness of the need for eye donors.

E-mail us at information@donortribute.org
Visit the Eye-Bank on the web at www.mebtc.org