Can you describe your organization’s mission in Ukraine?
Eye Care in Ukraine was created in 2021 in an effort to reduce preventable blindness in Ukraine. With the full-scale invasion of the country, we switched initially to providing supplies, but then, from winter 2022 we started focusing on the existing need for cornea tissue. Here, cornea tissue goes by the name of “cornea bioimplants,” which is the legal name. We spent from winter 2022 to early 2025 registering these tissues, and were granted a registration by the Health Ministry in early 2025.
We also work with ophthalmologists in Ukraine to obtain other things, such as the Boston Keratoprosthesis (KPro), the artificial cornea produced by Harvard Medical and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Institute. We work with companies that create artificial irises, and have provided around $130,000 worth of glaucoma valves, donated by New World Medical. Glaucoma has risen in the country due to a lot of older Ukrainians having their diabetic medication disrupted because of the war. We also have an ongoing program aimed at providing ballistic eyewear to first responders and medics that work on the front lines, which is more along the lines of prevention than treatment.
Our main focus has been developing access to cornea tissue, something that was often met with laughter when we first started talking about it. Everyone knew that there was a need for this service, but felt that the Ukrainian government would not accept cornea transplantation. That sentiment has changed significantly since 2023. We are now starting to see cornea transplantation being done more frequently, and there is a lot more interest as a result.
We are also focused on developing eye banking in the country, which is kind of a chicken and the egg thing – you can't really have an eye bank without having enough physicians who perform keratoplasty. But because cornea had been essentially administratively banned, the legal structure wasn't actually in place to do transplants in Ukraine, whether that was cornea or hearts or lungs. Now, thankfully, things are changing.
However, we have less than ten surgeons in Ukraine that can actually do cornea transplantation, so we are starting to train physicians and get them into wet labs. The challenge is that most of these skilled cornea surgeons are facing retirement or end-of-life issues; over the next five to 10 years, we'll see further attrition of the number of people that can perform this important surgery. That’s why training the next generation of physicians is so important.
What are some of the logistical challenges involved in this type of operation?
Currently, there are two options in Ukraine for obtaining cornea tissue. There is an existing eye bank in Dnipro, which is a public private partnership. We offer an alternative, which is to bring ethically sourced and donated cornea tissues from the United States. These tissues are provided by Eversight Eye Bank, but because planes cannot fly into Ukraine and the time it takes for a shipping company to transport cornea, the only way for us to do it is by using couriers or bringing it in ourselves. That requires flying it into Poland and then crossing by car, train, or bus into Ukraine and declaring it.
What about the issues involved in setting up another eye bank in the country itself?
As mentioned, the legislation doesn't currently support a private eye bank. But based on discussions we've had, I think that private eye banking will eventually be allowed here. But there's a lot of administrative change that needs to occur.
Have these legislative changes been exacerbated by the invasion?
Yes. Without the invasion, Ukraine would probably have around 4,000-5,000 cornea patients a year, but with the war that need is increasing significantly. This is mostly due to eye trauma instances increasing in the military. So the laws have to change to meet this increased need.
The public clinics are currently seeing soldiers, and some of these surgeries are done at military hospitals or at private clinics at no cost. Prior to the war, ophthalmology was not something the military dealt with very much, because if you had eye problems you would just be discharged. But now the military is working to build their capacity in ophthalmology. They have facilities in Kiev and in Lviv, as well as the military hospitals closer to the front lines, such as in Dnipro.
How do you collaborate with local ophthalmologists to facilitate cornea transplants?
Essentially, we speak with doctors and vet them to make sure that they have the skills required to do this type of surgery. Then we will offer them cornea on a non-profit humanitarian basis. At some point in the future, there will be fees charged for the processing of cornea tissue. But in both the US and Ukraine, the selling of tissue is illegal, and so any charges surrounding these tissues are always related to the cost of logistics, testing, and recovery. But the tissues themselves are gifts given by individuals or the families of individuals who have passed away, and we take that gift very seriously.
Looking ahead, what are the main priorities for eye banking and cornea transplantation in Ukraine?
More physician training is key. We're also talking to a number of groups in the US and Canada about doing fellowships. In the meantime, we're focused on providing training not only to surgeons, but regular physicians as well.
We have some Ukrainian-speaking cornea surgeons in the US, and we're incorporating them in the hope of doing a symposium in Poland in 2026. This symposium will help surgeons as well as regular ophthalmologists – not only do we need the surgeons to do the actual operations, but we also need to have informed ophthalmologists who understand the needs and opportunities that having access to cornea tissue present.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
It's important to note that Dr. Vladimir Petrovich Filatov of the Filatov Institute in Odessa, was actually the first physician to come up with the notion of eye banking. Then, ironically, eye banking was banned here about 20 years ago. But now it is coming back and we’re working hard to make that happen. In a sense, Ukraine is the rightful home for eye banking, and so we're excited to be part of its return.
