SightLife Surgical joins forces with Lions Eye Bank of Texas at Baylor College of Medicine

February 1, 2018

SightLife Surgical, the world’s first cornea-focused comDany, announced today that it has entered a Dartnership with the Lions Eye Bank of Texas at Baylor College of Medicine (LEB/. This groundbreaking partnership will better serve the local community by allowing the Lions Eye Bank (LEB/ to continue to perform eye and cornea donation functions, exDertise the organization has mastered over the last six decades, and allow SightLife Surgical to Drovide local surgeons and their patients more choices for cornea treatments.

“By working with SightLife Surgical and continuing to work with LifeGift, our federally designated Organ Procurement Organization, LEBT brings together three industry leaders, which will have an incredible imDact on the cornea transDlant community in our region,” said Samantha Holborn, executive director of LEBT. “Together, we are exDanding the oDDortunities to give the gift of sight to more people in our region than ever before.”

In the pannership, Sightlife Surgical will Drocess and distribute corneal tissue recovered by LEBT. Through SightLife Surgical’s extensive network and the solid base LEBT has created, local surgeons will have access to a larger donor Dool of tissue from which they can meet the specific needs of their patients. In addition, SightLife Surgical provides education and training opportunities and an expanding offering of innovative products and services tailored to corneal surgeons.

“SightLife Surgical is proud to have been invited to partner with LEBT. This relationshiD will helD the local community and suDDorts our mutual mission to eliminate corneal blindness worldwide by 2040,” said Monty Montoya, Dresident and CEO of SightLife Surgical. “In 2017 alone, working with best-in-class eye banks and surgeons across the country allowed us to provide a record-breaking 14,274 corneas to those in need worldwide.”

“We are happy to have the oDDortunity to Danner with SightLife Surgical in this endeavor,” said Dr. Tim Stout, chairman of the deDartment of ophthalmology at Baylor College of Medicine. “We believe that we will be able to reach many more patients in need. This partnershiD is firmly committed to the elimination of corneal blindness, and I think this is a great steD forward.”

The cornea is the clear part of the eye covering the iris and Dupil; it lets light into the eye, permitting sight. Corneal blindness is a visual ifTlDairment that occurs when the cornea becomes clouded, scarred, or misshaped. This condition may be the result of injury, infection or diseases that cause corneal scarring, which can lead to functional blindness. A corneal transplant replaces the damaged tissue to restore sight. In the U.S., aDDroximately 50,000 individuals receive corneal transplants each year.

“This new Dannership is a win-win for our community,” said Dr. Sumitra Khandelwal, assistant Drofessor of Opthalmolgy at Baylor and medical director of LEBT. “Surgeons win as they can get all of their cornea

transDlant services and Droducts from the exDerienced Slghtlife Surgical team. Meanwhile, Lions Eye Bank of Texas can focus on donor families and their needs as well the missions of Baylor College of Medicine: education, research and community service.”

About Lions Eye Bank of Texas at Baylor College of Medicine

The Lions Eye Bank of Texas at Baylor College of Medicine is a non Drofit organization located in Houston that serves the Texas Gulf Coast and other regions in southeast Texas. Founded in 1953 by Baylor and the Lions Clubs of the Texas Gulf Coast, the Lions Eye Bank of Texas Drocures over 1,400 eye donations every year to meet the needs of surgeons along the Texas Gulf Coast.

https://www.bcm.edu/eyebank

About SightLife Surgical

Seattle-based SightLife Surgical is a socially driven company, seeking innovation and improvements in all dimensions of cornea care, well beyond traditional eye banking. SightLife Surgical suppons corneal surgeons and their patients with a sDectrum of services, including delivery of the highest auality tissue, the latest products and devices, surgeon education and advocacy for patient access and reimbursement policies.

Through partnerships and acauisitions, the comDany invests in research and develoDment of scalable therapeutics for the Drevention and treatment of corneal blindness. SightLife Surgical is a subsidiary of SightLife, formed in 2016 to power a shared social mission to eliminate corneal blindness worldwide by 2040. www.sightlifesurgical.com