Georgia Eye Bank is a small nonprofit organization, but is managed similar to that of a much larger, high-tech medical device company. The Administration and Support team provides senior leadership, accounting/finance, HR, information technology, and facility management. Grant writing, fundraising, organizational strategic planning and development are all performed by management.

Our process begins with our highly trained Donor Coordinators. They are responsible for medical screening of potential donors, donor family communications, and recovery scheduling/logistics. Donor Coordinators interact daily with funeral home professionals, coroners/medical examiners, and partnering organ and tissue recovery agencies. Georgia Eye Bank’s Donor Coordination team is staffed and available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to honor the wishes of eye donors and their families.

When the eye tissue arrives at the laboratory, a team of talented staff begin the process of evaluating the tissue and reviewing the donor’s medical records. Extensive information must be gathered and reviewed in a short time frame to determine donor eligibility and tissue suitability. The release and distribution of tissue is also coordinated and performed by our Laboratory Technicians. All tissue for surgical use is thoroughly screened for recipient safety. Only the highest quality tissue makes it through our extensive quality control measures. We strictly adhere to all FDA regulations and EBAA Medical Standards. Certain types of corneal transplant procedures require additional laboratory tissue processing which is done at our state-of-the-art facility according to individual surgeon specifications.

Our Public & Professional Relations team develops and maintains relationships with entities and agencies that we depend on for a successful eye donation program. Public & Professional Relations involves high-level communication and education with hospitals, hospices, coroner/medical examiners and funeral homes. In addition to developing and attending donation awareness events, our Public & Professional Coordinators respond to requests for public education and engage with stakeholders to make sure Georgia Eye Bank is providing the best service possible.

Everyone at Georgia Eye Bank is responsible for quality, and our Quality Systems team ensures that proper protocols and procedures are in place to achieve and maintain our very high standards. Eye Banking is a highly-regulated industry. Our staff ensures that the eye bank remains in total compliance with all regulations and standards applicable to eye banking activities. Environmental monitoring/testing, process validation, corrective action/preventative actions and required reporting to official agencies are responsibilities of Quality Systems.