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For immediate release                                                                    

LIONS CLUB CELEBRATES HISTORIC MEDICAL MILESTONE

(Enter your city, and the date) - The (insert the name of your club) Lions Club plans to (insert your planned activity) as a way of celebrating Lions Eye Bank Week

Lions Clubs International declared December 4-10, 2005 to be Lions Eye Bank Week. The event commemorates the 100th anniversary of the world’s first transplant operation – a corneal transplant. The sight-saving operation was performed by Dr. Eduard Zirm on December 7, 1905 in the present-day Czech Republic. More information appears at: http://www.lionsclubs.org/EN/content/vision_services_100.shtml

Lions clubs are dedicated to sight restoration. In 1944, Dr. R. Townley Paton of New York City organized the Eye Bank for Sight Restoration, a non-profit facility that recovers, processes, and distributes corneas for later transplant. The Staten Island Central Lions Club was one of the first organizations to support the world’s first eye bank.

Today, there are at least 60 Lions eye banks in 11 countries. Through support of eye bank services, Lions continue to help the visually impaired. Lions serve local eye banks as corneal tissue transporters, eye bank volunteers, and fundraisers. Lions also encourage the public to become corneal tissue donors.

Lions Clubs International is the world’s largest service club organization with nearly 1.35 million members in approximately 45,000 clubs in 196 countries and geographical areas. Since 1917, Lions have aided the blind and visually impaired and others in need. For more information visit: www.lionsclubs.org.  For information about the planned activity of the  (insert club name) Lions club, contact: (insert contact information).

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