A Technician from The Eye Bank of Canada (Ontario Division) evaluates the quality of donated eye tissue. 

Debating if organ donation is right for you? Or are you an organ donor who has decided not to donate your eyes or eye tissue?

The Eye Bank of Canada (Ontario Division) is the largest Eye Bank in the country. We collect, process and distribute donated human eyes and tissue for sight-saving transplants.

Only a fraction of blind Canadians receive the sight-saving transplant they need. This is because there isn’t enough corneal tissue available. You can help change that – by becoming an eye and tissue donor.

Find out why donating your eyes is so important:

1. Over 1600 individuals are currently on wait-lists for organ transplants—and that’s just in Ontario.

2. The majority of Ontarians support organ donation, but only 29% are registered donors.

3. Up to eight people can be helped by one individual’s organ donation.

4. Someone in Canada starts to lose their eyesight every 12 minutes.

5. Last year, eye donations enabled over 1200 individuals to have their vision restored through corneal transplants.

6. Unfortunately, 59 corneal transplant surgeries were cancelled due to a critical shortage of available tissue.

7. The need for corneas varies by province, but may be as long as 18-24 months.

8. Donated sclera, the white part of the eye, can be vital to sight-saving surgeries for glaucoma as well as for reconstructive surgeries.

9. All donated eyes are useful—donated eyes inappropriate for transplantation can be helpful in progressing research, understanding and treatment of blinding diseases.

10. Registering to be an organ donor is quick and easy—it only takes two minutes!

Ready to get registered?

Visit beadonor.ca today and join the 3.5 million Ontarians who have already signed up!

For more information about eye and tissue donation, visit:

Trillium Gift of Life Network 
beadonor.ca
CNIB