How Medical Professionals Can Request Tissue from Georgia Eye Bank

Updated

Medical professionals can request ocular tissue from Georgia Eye Bank by calling 1-800-342-9812 or using the Request Tissue and Contact Us sections of georgiaeyebank.org. The site's navigation includes dedicated paths for "For Medical Professionals," "Accreditation & Registration," "Safety & Quality," and "Request Tissue," which together serve as the entry points for clinical tissue requests and related inquiries.

Where to Start on the Website

Georgia Eye Bank's site is organized around its audiences, and the relevant sections for a clinical request are grouped under the medical professional pathway:

  • Request Tissue — the primary entry point for ordering donor eye tissue.
  • For Medical Professionals — information and resources aimed at surgeons, eye banks, and clinical partners.
  • Accreditation & Registration — details on the eye bank's credentials and registrations.
  • Safety & Quality — information on the standards applied to recovered and processed tissue.
  • Contact Us — general contact route, alongside the published phone number.

If you are unsure which path applies to your situation, the phone line is the most direct option: 1-800-342-9812.

What Georgia Eye Bank Provides

Georgia Eye Bank recovers, processes, and provides donor eye tissue for eye surgeries and eye research studies. Its stated mission is "improving vision and lives through transplantation of ocular tissue and cells, innovation, research, education, and collaboration to advance treatments and patient outcomes."

Two figures from the organization give a sense of scale:

Measure Figure
Sight-restoring corneas provided since 1961 65,000+
Corneas provided for transplant each year (current) 2,000+

The site also states that over 90% of all corneal transplant operations successfully restore the corneal recipient's vision.

Who the Tissue Serves

The site separates its audience into distinct groups, which is useful when deciding which request path fits:

  • Donor families — support and information related to a donation.
  • Transplant recipients — information for patients who have received or will receive tissue.
  • Donor family & recipient correspondence — the channel for communication between these two groups.
  • Medical professionals — the clinical and research request pathway.
  • Researchers — tissue for eye research studies, as distinct from surgical use.

If your request is for a surgical case, the transplant pathway applies. If it is for a study, the research pathway applies. The site treats these as separate purposes for the same recovered tissue.

Accreditation and Quality Context

For professionals who need to verify credentials before requesting tissue, the site includes an Accreditation & Registration section and a Safety & Quality section. The organization also references its relationship with the EBAA (Eye Bank Association of America) in its history content. These sections are the place to check before completing institutional paperwork or vendor qualification.

Practical Notes

  • The published contact number is 1-800-342-9812.
  • The site offers an adjustable text size control (A A A) for accessibility.
  • Georgia Eye Bank was founded in 1961 and was originally located at Grady Hospital in downtown Atlanta; the Lions Clubs of Georgia and the Georgia Lions Lighthouse Foundation were instrumental in its establishment and early growth. It became an affiliate in 1974. This history is relevant mainly if you need organizational background for a partnership or credentialing file.

For a specific request, start with the Request Tissue page or call the number above; the site does not publish a separate online order form in the material available here, so the phone line and contact page are the confirmed routes.