Give the Gift of Sight

AJ

Cornea Donor

Student, musician, beloved son, brother, and fiancé, AJ was diagnosed with alveolar soft part sarcoma, a rare cancer at age 24. Photo of AJ Despite a tremendous fight, he passed away in January 2009. AJ's cornea donations gave a cornea transplant patient new hope and furthered knowledge of eye diseases through research.

Growing up, AJ was familiar with the topics of donation and transplantation. His father, Brian, is a Minnesota Lions club member and a cornea recipient. Because generous cornea donors restored his dad's vision, AJ had made sure that "DONOR" was on his first driver's license. If he could help another person in any way through donation, he wanted to do it. His cancer prevented all but eye donation, but AJ knew how precious was the gift of sight. Full story

Brian

Cornea Transplant Recipient and Donor Father

Returning home from his first cornea transplant, Brian, now a 50-something sales engineer, could for the first time see well enough to notice handprints all along the hallway wall, where night after night he'd been groping his way to bed. "I told my wife, 'We have to paint these!' " Nearly 20 years later, he is helping other cornea recipients find their way through their equivalent of that dark hallway.

After a college English teacher asked why he squinted all the time, Brian sought out an eye doctor, Photo of Brianwho diagnosed keratoconus, a degenerative condition that leaves corneas misshapen and scarred, distorting vision. Full story

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