lions eye bank of the northeast

What lions eye bank of the northeast does

Lions Eye Bank of the Northeast (LEBNE), legally organized as Sight Society of Northeastern NY, Inc., is a nonprofit eye bank founded on June 12, 1952 as the world's first Lions Eye Bank. Operating from headquarters in Albany (4 Tower Place, Suite 601) and a secondary office in Rochester (155 Corporate Woods, Suite 150), New York, the organization recovers ocular tissue from hospitals, hospices, and funeral homes and distributes it for corneal transplantation, medical education, and research. LEBNE's primary service territory covers 50 counties in New York State plus Great Barrington, Massachusetts and hospitals in Western Vermont; in 2022, recovered tissue was placed in 21 US states and 13 countries.

Core operations center on the Corneal Transplant Program and Ocular Tissue Recovery Services, executed through a comprehensive laboratory staffed by certified eye bank technicians (CEBT) operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Supporting programs include the Donor Family After Care Program (facilitating correspondence between recipients and donor families), Medical Education Services (supplying tissue for surgical training), Research Support Services, the Vision of Hope Award, the Community Stories Portal, and the Volunteer with Vision Program. The technical team's role includes field recovery in hospitals, hospices, and funeral homes while maintaining FDA registration, EBAA accreditation, and NYSDOH licensure for both Albany and Rochester, plus tissue bank licenses in Maryland and California.

LEBNE generates revenue through two principal streams: professional services fees from ocular tissue distribution to surgeons, hospitals, hospices, and funeral homes; and tax-deductible financial contributions accepted via PayPal, an annual benefit golf tournament (now in its 33rd year), Spirit Week activities, raffles, and corporate philanthropy. The go-to-market model is community-led and event-driven, with awareness built through Donate Life NYS partnership, Lions Club chapter engagement, DMV appreciation activities, Facebook (@LEBNE), and direct hospital, hospice, and funeral home outreach. In 2022, LEBNE worked with over 600 grieving families to facilitate eye donation and recorded its highest-ever annual transplant volume of 1,041 procedures at an 89% transplant rate versus the national average of 68%.

Name

lions eye bank of the northeast

Legal name

Sight Society of Northeastern NY, Inc.

Website

https://lebnortheast.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1952

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Lions Eye Bank of the Northeast is a nonprofit eye bank founded in 1952 that recovers and distributes ocular tissue for corneal transplantation, medical education, and research across 50 counties in New York State, plus Massachusetts and Vermont.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Eye Tissue Banking Services

NAICS

Blood and Organ Banks (621991)

SIC

Services-Specialty Outpatient Facilities, Nec (8093)

akta.pro primary industry

Ophthalmic Regeneration (cornea/retina) (HLAAAGAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Cornea, External Disease & Refractive Surgery (LASIK/PRK) (HLAKAKAF)

Keywords

• Ocular tissue recovery
• Corneal transplant services
• Eye bank services
• Tissue donation coordination
• Medical education tissue

Headquarters

HQ city

Albany

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Eye Tissue Services: The organization provides ocular tissue for transplantation, medical education, and research. As a nonprofit eye bank, they facilitate the recovery and distribution of corneal tissue to surgeons and medical institutions.
2. Donations and Contributions: Financial contributions from donors and community members help fund the organization's mission and programs. Contributions are tax-deductible according to IRS regulations.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Lions Eye Bank of the Northeast recovers ocular tissue from deceased donors in hospitals, hospices, and funeral homes and distributes it for corneal transplantation, medical education, and research. The organization operates a comprehensive laboratory staffed by a dedicated technical team available 24/7, supporting a Donor Family After Care Program and partnerships with healthcare providers across a 50+ county service territory.

Product overview

Lions Eye Bank of the Northeast is a non-profit eye tissue bank founded in 1952 that operates as a single unified service organization rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The core offering is the Corneal Transplant Program, which recovers ocular tissue from hospitals, hospices, and funeral homes (Ocular Tissue Recovery Services) and distributes it for transplantation, medical education, and research. Supporting services include the Donor Family After Care Program (facilitating correspondence between recipients and donor families), Medical Education Services, Research Support, and the Volunteer with Vision Program. The organization also runs community engagement through a Community Stories Portal and offers Donor Registration through the NY Donate Life registry. Fundraising activities include Financial Contributions (via PayPal), an annual Golf Tournament, and Raffles. The Vision of Hope Award recognizes individuals contributing to the mission. The organization serves 50 counties in New York State plus Great Barrington, Massachusetts and hospitals in Western Vermont.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Corneal Transplant Program

Quantifiable outcome

• 89% transplant rate vs 68% national average
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Eye Bank Association of America (EBAA)coreOthersLEBNE is EBAA Accredited. The organization is a Silver Sponsor of the EBAA Annual Meeting, which features dynamic workshops, concurrent sessions, and networking opportunities with donation and transplantation professionals from around the world.
• U.S. Food & Drug AdministrationcoreOthersLEBNE is FDA Registered. The organization maintains FDA registration for both Albany and Rochester locations.
• New York State Department of HealthcoreOthersLEBNE is NYSDOH Licensed. The organization holds transplant and non-transplant licenses from New York State Department of Health for both Albany and Rochester locations.
• Donate LifecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerLEBNE partners with Donate Life America for donor registration and awareness campaigns. The organization participates in National Donate Life Month activities and promotes the Donate Life registry.
• Lions Clubs InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLEBNE is the Sight Society of Northeastern New York (SSNENY), a Lions Club-affiliated organization. Founded in 1952 under the Lions Club tradition of service, continuing the 'We Serve' motto. Local Lions clubs throughout the service territory provide volunteer and community support.
• Donate Life NYScoreGTM or Marketing PartnerLEBNE partners with Donate Life New York State for donor registration drives, including dedicated registration links and DMV partnership appreciation activities.
• Stuyvesant PlazaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerStuyvesant Plaza partners with LEBNE for National Donate Life Month celebrations, lighting their sign green and posting messages in their windows to bring attention to donation.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Heartland Lions Eye Banks: Lions-affiliated nonprofit eye bank serving multiple Midwestern states. Highly comparable as another Lions-network eye bank with multi-county recovery territory and community-led donor recruitment.
• CorneaGen: For-profit corneal tissue provider supplying surgeons and eye banks globally. Comparable as a directly competing ocular tissue distributor, though it operates with greater commercial scale and capital than nonprofit peers.
• Eversight: Multi-state nonprofit eye bank headquartered in Cleveland, OH, recovering and distributing ocular tissue across the Midwest and beyond. Closely comparable in operating model, accreditation profile, and donor-family engagement approach.
• Georgia Eye Bank: Georgia-based nonprofit eye bank providing corneal tissue for transplantation, education, and research. Comparable as a regional EBAA-accredited peer with similar service-offering scope.
• SightLife: One of the largest US eye banks, headquartered in Seattle, recovering and distributing corneal tissue for transplantation and research. Directly comparable as a multi-state EBAA-accredited nonprofit eye bank with international distribution.
• Lions Eye Institute for Transplant and Research: Florida-based nonprofit eye and tissue bank affiliated with Lions Clubs. Comparable as a Lions-affiliated eye bank performing corneal recovery, transplantation, and research support.
• Midwest Eye-Banks: Michigan-based nonprofit eye bank providing corneal tissue for transplant, research, and education. Comparable as a regional EBAA-accredited nonprofit eye bank with similar recovery and distribution operations.
• Lions Eye Bank of Texas: Texas-based Lions-affiliated nonprofit eye bank recovering and distributing corneal tissue. Comparable as a Lions-network peer with similar volunteer-supported donor recruitment model.
• San Diego Eye Bank: California-based nonprofit eye bank recovering and distributing corneal tissue. Comparable as a state-licensed, EBAA-accredited nonprofit operating with a similar tissue-services revenue model.

Others

• Donate Life America: National nonprofit overseeing organ, eye, and tissue donor registration across the US. Not a direct eye bank competitor, but a critical ecosystem partner driving LEBNE's donor registration pipeline.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/LEBNE
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lebne

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 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 →

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