The Lions Sight Program at the University of Minnesota
In 1925, when Lions International was only seven years old, the
legendary Helen Keller spoke to the members at their annual convention
and challenged them to become "knights of the blind in the crusade
against darkness." That speech set the Lions' course. Since then, well
over one million Lions members worldwide have devoted their service
careers to helping people with visual impairments or blindness.
Minnesota's Knights of the Blind have built the Lions Sight
Program at the University of Minnesota:
Minnesota Lions Eye Bank
The Lions in Minnesota began their partnership with the
University of Minnesota's Department of Ophthalmology by
establishing the Minnesota Lions Eye Bank. The eye bank obtains,
evaluates and distributes donated eye tissue for use in corneal
transplantation, research and education. The Minnesota Lions Eye
Bank opened its doors in 1960, and it is now one of the most
successful eye banks in the country. More than 14,000 people
have received the gift of sight with donated eye tissue provided
by the Minnesota Lions Eye Bank.
Lions Children's Eye Clinic
Back in the mid-1960's, when the board of directors
of the young Minnesota Lions Eye Bank was confident that
the organization was doing well, they asked the chairman
of the Department of Ophthalmology for a project similar
in scale to the eye bank. In 1969, the Lions Children's
Eye Clinic opened. The clinic is now the second largest
and best-staffed clinic of its kind in the country. Over
four-thousand children were seen in the clinic last
year.
Lions Research Building
In 1993 the Lions Research Building opened at
the University of Minnesota's Minneapolis
campus. The state of the art laboratory building
houses investigators in the departments of
Ophthalmology, Otolaryngology and Neurology. The
Lions of Minnesota made a gift of three million
dollars to begin the project.
Minnesota Lions Macular Degeneration
Research and Rehabilitation Center (The
MAC)
The Lions of Minnesota are
undertaking a challenge to fight the
leading cause of blindness in the United
States, macular degeneration. By age 75,
nearly one-third of all Americans will
be stricken with the disease.
Macular degeneration is a disease that
causes permanent loss to the central
vision. There are two forms of macular
degeneration, commonly referred to as
dry macular degeneration and wet macular
degeneration.
Eighty-five to 90 percent of people
suffering from advanced macular
degeneration have dry (atrophic) macular
degeneration. It is caused by aging and
thinning of the tissues of the macula.
With dry macular degeneration, central
vision loss is usually gradual.
Wet macular degeneration is
characterized by abnormal blood vessels
that grow under the retina and leak
blood that blurs central vision. Ten to
15 percent of patients with advanced
macular degeneration have the wet
variety. Vision loss is usually rapid
and severe. If caught early, laser
surgery can sometimes stop or slow the
progression of wet macular degeneration.
The Minnesota Lions Macular Degeneration
Research and Rehabilitation Center will
bring every available resource to bear
against this blinding disease by
gathering physicians and researchers
together with representatives from the
medical technology industry, other
university departments, and the Lions.
For more information about the MAC
Center, please call 612/625-9600.
The Lions
Lions Club International is
the largest service organization
in the world, with more than 1.4
million members in over 180
countries. There are 27,000
Lions members in Minnesota, and
over 600 clubs statewide. Lions
service begins in the community
and overflows to the state, the
nation and the world.
In Minnesota, the Lions have
given over $18 million to the
people of Minnesota through the
Lions Sight Programs at the
University of Minnesota.
The Lions motto is simply: We
Serve.
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