Hoornvlies Patiënten Vereniging

What Hoornvlies Patiënten Vereniging does

Hoornvlies Patiënten Vereniging (HPV) is a Dutch non-profit patient association founded in 2005 in Utrecht by ophthalmologists, cornea specialists, and corneal patients themselves. The organization serves people living with corneal conditions such as keratoconus, Fuchs dystrophy, and other cornea-related diseases, as well as their family members and care network. HPV operates as the patient-advocacy layer of the Dutch corneal care ecosystem, maintaining structural relationships with all corneal clinics in the Netherlands, the Cornea working group of the Nederlands Oogheelkundig Gezelschap, UMC Utrecht, Maastricht UMC+, Amsterdam UMC, Oogziekenhuis Rotterdam, the Nederlandse Transplantatie Stichting, and the broader Oogvereniging network.

HPV's core "products" are information and community services rather than technology. Its two flagship content assets are the print-based CORNEA Magazine (formerly "Oog voor U") and the digital Hoornvlieswijzer platform at hoornvlieswijzer.nl, which hosts 27+ structured patient interviews, educational films co-produced with clinical partners, and a "Praat mee" engagement module. Alongside these, HPV operates a human-mediated peer-support program (lotgenotencontact), biennial national events (the Nationale Hoornvliesdag, ~250 attendees, rated 9/10), regional meetings across the Netherlands and Flanders, and the biennial Hennie Völker-Dieben Award recognizing contributions to corneal patient welfare. There is no proprietary technology platform; the organization explicitly relies on volunteer-driven content and clinical partnerships.

The business model is a non-profit subscription-plus-grant model. Revenue is generated from annual individual memberships at €25/year (subscription, recurring), ANBI-status government subsidies and tax-deductible donations (subscription/grant, recurring), and corporate sponsorship — primarily from two contact-lens specialists, Oculenti and Visser Contactlenzen. The association is governed by five unpaid board members and supported by volunteers, with one paid association manager (Michel Versteeg) handling daily operations and back-office administration partly shared with the Oogvereniging. The organization is not a venture-backable entity; its growth is bounded by mission, donor base, and Dutch patient-association funding policy rather than market expansion.

Name

Hoornvlies Patiënten Vereniging

Legal name

Hoornvlies Patiënten Vereniging

Website

https://oogvooru.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Hoornvlies Patiënten Vereniging is a Dutch non-profit patient association founded in 2005 that provides information, peer support, and advocacy for people with corneal conditions and their families, primarily in the Netherlands and Flanders.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Utrecht

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Lidmaatschap: Contributie €25,00 per jaar voor leden, inclusief toezending van CORNEA Magazine en informatie over activiteiten.
2. Subsidies en giften (ANBI): Sinds oprichting is de HPV een Algemeen Nut Beogende Instelling (ANBI). De vereniging ontvangt overheidssubsidies en giften die fiscaal aftrekbaar zijn voor donors.
3. Sponsoring: Hoofdsponsors Oculenti en Visser Contactlenzen ondersteunen de vereniging.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Hoornvlies Patiënten Vereniging is a Dutch non-profit patient association that provides information, peer support, and advocacy for individuals with corneal conditions such as keratoconus and Fuchs dystrophy. It delivers member services through an annual subscription (€25/year) that includes the CORNEA Magazine and access to the Hoornvlieswijzer interactive patient interview platform, alongside organized peer contact, national and regional meetings, and advocacy toward healthcare providers, insurers, and government.

Product overview

Hoornvlies Patiënten Vereniging is a patient association providing information, support, and advocacy for people with corneal conditions. The organization operates a suite of educational and support services centered around the Hoornvlieswijzer platform (an interactive guide with patient interviews) and the CORNEA Magazine publication. Core services include peer support programs connecting patients with experienced peers, national and regional educational events including the biennial Nationale Hoornvliesdag, and the biennial Hennie Völker-Dieben Award recognizing contributions to corneal patient welfare. The organization focuses on patient empowerment through shared experiences and medical information rather than commercial products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Hoornvlieswijzer: An initiative featuring interviews with patients having different stages and forms of cornea conditions, providing information about treatments and patient experiences.
• Hennie Völker-Dieben Award

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• OculenticoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorContactlensspecialist gespecialiseerd in hoornvliesaandoeningen, verbonden aan hoornvliesklinieken en ziekenhuizen. Hoofdsponsor van de HPV en specialist in scleralenzen en vormstabiele lenzen.
• Visser ContactlenzencoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorContactlenspraktijk gespecialiseerd in hoornvliesaandoeningen, verbonden aan hoornvliesklinieken en ziekenhuizen. Hoofdsponsor van de HPV en specialist in scleralenzen.
• TransplantatiestichtingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSamenwerking met de Nederlandse Transplantatie Stichting voor donorvoorlichting en -werving.
• Nederlands Oogheelkundig Gezelschap (Cornea werkgroep)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSamenwerking met de cornea werkgroep van het Nederlands Oogheelkundig Gezelschap voor belangenbehartiging en onderzoek.
• UMC UtrechtcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeelname vanuit patiëntenperspectief aan onderzoeksprogramma's van het UMC Utrecht.
• Maastricht UMC+coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeelname vanuit patiëntenperspectief aan onderzoeksprogramma's van het Maastricht UMC+.
• OogverenigingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSamenwerking met de Oogvereniging die een deel van de administratie voert voor de HPV. Coördinatie van het voucherproject en contactpersonen-netwerk.
• MaculaVereniging, Vereniging OOG in OOG, OogfondsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSamenwerkingsverband van oogpatiëntenorganisaties voor intensievere samenwerking en gezamenlijke belangenbehartiging.
• Amsterdam UMCminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner voor voorlichtingsfilms over hoornvliestransplantaties en behandelingen.
• Oogziekenhuis RotterdamminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner voor voorlichtingsfilms over hoornvliestransplantaties en behandelingen.
• AZ ParamaribominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner voor voorlichtingsfilms over hoornvliestransplantaties in Suriname.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB): UK's leading sight-loss charity, covering ophthalmic conditions broadly. Comparable as a patient-advocacy non-profit with peer support, information, and policy functions; operates at much larger scale and primarily in the UK, making it a regional/incumbent reference point for HPV's possible growth trajectory.

Others

• Stichting Hoornvlies Nederland (Cornea Bank Nederland): Dutch cornea bank supplying donor tissue to corneal surgeons. Comparable as a Netherlands-based cornea-specific organization with deep involvement in transplant policy and patient pathway — operates upstream of HPV in the same clinical chain.
• EuCornea: European society of corneal and refractive surgeons. Comparable as a Europe-wide cornea-focused organization operating in the same clinical specialty; functions as a professional-side counterpart to HPV's patient-side mission, with potential joint programming.
• Nederlandse Transplantatie Stichting (NTS): Dutch national transplant foundation. Directly comparable as an adjacent patient/donor-facing non-profit; HPV maintains a formal partnership with NTS on donor education and recruitment, making it a close ecosystem peer.

Direct peers

• Oogvereniging: The Dutch umbrella patient organization for people with all forms of eye disease. Directly comparable to HPV as a membership-based patient advocacy group; HPV actually delegates some administrative work to Oogvereniging, indicating overlapping scope and formal coordination.
• Vereniging OOG in OOG: Dutch patient association for visually impaired children and their parents. Closely comparable as a Dutch eye-patient advocacy organization with the same community-led GTM motion; explicitly listed by HPV as a strategic peer organization.
• MaculaVereniging: Dutch patient association specifically for people with macular degeneration. Directly comparable structure (non-profit, member-funded, advocacy + information + peer support) and explicitly named as a peer collaborator in HPV's joint "Mijn optimale oogzorg" project.
• Oogfonds: Dutch eye-research fundraising foundation. Comparable as a Dutch eye-care nonprofit operating in the same donor/sponsor ecosystem, also explicitly named by HPV as a collaborating peer organization.

Emerging players

• National Keratoconus Foundation: US-based non-profit dedicated exclusively to keratoconus, one of HPV's primary indications. Functionally analogous (patient education, peer support, advocacy) but geographically separate, serving as a useful international benchmark for HPV's programmatic approach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/HoornvliesPatientenVereniging
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hoornvlies-pati%C3%ABnten-vereniging
• Instagraminstagram.com/oogvooru

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hoornvlies Patiënten Vereniging