Saying YES! to donation can change someone’s life
“I am passionate about spreading the important lifesaving and enhancing message of organ and tissue donation because I know the powerful impact it can have,” said Peter DeSarno, member of the New Providence Lions and double cornea transplant recipient. “It is an honor to bring together two organizations (The Lions Club and Eversight) that do so much good and have personally impacted my life”.
That was the way the presentation at the November 4 New Providence Lions Club meeting began as members heard the personal story of one of its own members receiving the gift of sight and discussed the 50-year history of Eye Banking in New Jersey with Jennifer Rosenblatt, Director of Philanthropy at Eversight.
Peter went on to share that when he was in high school, he was diagnosed with a condition called Keratoconus that affected both of his eyes and at the age of 24. He then received two cornea transplants that restored his vision and forever changed his life.
The gift of his first donor cornea in his left eye came to him with the assistance of the Lions Eye Bank of Texas. The second transplant in his right eye was procured with the assistance of the Lions Eye Bank of New Jersey (now Eversight) working in conjunction with the New Providence based, NJ Sharing Network.
Peter put his experience into perspective by saying that today he looks out of the eyes of two other individuals. Peter explained that unfortunately he has not been able to make contact with and thank his donor families. He said what he does know is that they were two heroic human beings who came from two loving, caring and generous families who in their darkest hour displayed an incredible amount of love and compassion in providing him with the gift of sight. He said that he doesn’t think humanity gets any more beautiful than that.
The Lions Club’s work in fighting blindness goes back many years. In 1925, as an ambassador for the newly formed American Foundation for the Blind, Helen Keller addressed the Lions Club International Convention in Cedar Point, Ohio hoping that the Lions would partner with the American Foundation for the Blind and lend their support as an organization to those who had lost their sight.
It was at that convention where she appealed to the Lions and challenged them to become “knights of the blind in this crusade against darkness.”
She had no idea just how far the association would take her challenge. Before the convention was over, the association dedicated itself to making Keller’s dream a reality and the Lions would become Keller’s Knights of the Blind.
Since 1925, millions of lives have been changed through the vision-related work of Lions around the world, and today the association is as dedicated as ever to hastening the day when no one should suffer unnecessarily from vision problems. Lions work to end preventable blindness and aid the visually impaired through eye centers and hospitals, medicines and surgeries, eye glasses and eye banks.
Jennifer Rosenblatt, Director of Philanthropy of Eversight, shared with the New Providence Lions Club an inspiring presentation about the Eye Bank in New Jersey and the work of her organization. Specifically, the work at Eversight to restore sight and prevent blindness through the healing power of donation, transplantation and research.
From its home in Clark, NJ, Eversight proudly partners with NJ Sharing Network, Lions Clubs, surgeons, businesses and philanthropists throughout New Jersey to advance its mission.
In 2019, Eversight worked with the families of 882 New Jersey residents who gave the gift of sight for transplantation, research and education. Through outreach and programs, Eversight provided donated tissue for 8,176 sight-restoring corneal transplants in 2019 in New Jersey and around the world.
Saying “yes” to donation can change someone’s life.
For details about donation visit eversightvision.org/our-work/donation.
For how to register to become a donor, visit eversightvision.org/get-involved/#join-registry.
The New Providence Lions Club is a 501(c)3 organization, giving back to the community 100% of the proceeds raised. Being a Lion empowers you to help others in a way that no one person could alone. The Lions are dedicated to helping others. Lions make a difference! For more information/membership please email info@nplions.org and visit nplions.org.
