Circle of Light: Eye Bank Photo Project on display at Estes Park Health
A traveling exhibit by the Rocky Mountain Lions Eye Bank (RMLEB) is on display through Feb. 28, 2025, at Estes Park Health. The Circle of Light Photo Project features pictures taken by patients who received corneal transplants.
The Circle of Light Photo Project shares the hope restored in people who can now see, thanks to the generosity of an eye donor. (Wendy Rigby/Estes Park Health)
“We exist to restore hope where hope may have been lost,” said RMLEB’s Executive Director, John Lohmeier. “The Circle of Light Photo Project shares the hope restored in people who can now see, thanks to the generosity of an eye donor.”
The exhibit features 19 pieces from 13 people who benefited from corneal transplants. The photographers are from Colorado, Wyoming, and Missouri. The youngest exhibitor is 19-year-old Jacob Degoey from Aurora, who received his cornea transplant in 2022.
Rae Price, Community and Professional Relations Coordinator for the Rocky Mountain Lions Eye Bank brought the exhibit to EPH on Monday, Jan. 27.
“We work with hospitals to recover the corneas,” Price explained. “The hospitals are on the front lines caring for patients while they are alive. Once they are deceased, it is up to the hospital to report the death and then we follow up to see if that decedent is eligible to donate their corneas. Nothing we do is possible without hospitals.”
The exhibit features 19 pieces from 13 people who benefited from corneal transplants. (Wendy Rigby/Estes Park Health)
Corneas can be recovered from almost any patient, even when other organs and tissues cannot be used.
“Last month, we recovered corneal tissue from a patient who was blind,” Price recalled “Much of the time when someone is blind, it is due to the lens and not the cornea. The family was so happy that their dad was able to donate his corneas, even though he had been blind.”
The Circle of Light Photo Project has been on display at various hospitals and libraries in Colorado and Wyoming since May of 2024. It has also been on display at Denver International Airport (DIA).
Eye tissue donation provides the gift of sight to those in need of a transplant. In 2023, 2,544 eye donors across Colorado and Wyoming provided sight-restoring transplants for 2,336 people. Eye tissue is first placed locally, then domestically with other eye banks in need, and finally internationally.
RMLEB is the nonprofit organization responsible for the recovery of donated eye tissues from donors in Colorado and most of Wyoming. Its mission is to fulfill the wishes of eye donors and their families to help others overcome blindness through transplantation and research.
This photo was taken by corneal transplant recipient Tammy Kluiber of Brighton.
To see the exhibit, enter EPH through the front lobby and take a left. The Circle of Light Photo Project is on the walls of the first floor waiting area near the EPH eye clinic. The photos will remain up through the end of February.
For more information about corneal donation and transplantation, go to www.corneas.org.
If you are interested in the Lions Club, contact Dwight Pfiffer, president of the Estes Park Lions at Dpfeiffer@bankofestespark.com.
About Rocky Mountain Lions Eye Bank
The Rocky Mountain Lions Eye Bank (RMLEB) was founded by the Lions of Colorado and Wyoming in 1982. RMLEB's mission is to fulfill the wishes of eye donors and their families to help another overcome blindness through transplantation and research. Our dedication to this mission allows nearly 2,500 eye tissue donors in Colorado and Wyoming to provide for thousands of sight-restorative transplants each year. We exist to restore hope where hope may have been lost. We procure, qualify and provide donated eye tissue for transplant and research.