World’s Largest Eye Collection Is a Research Tool

Utah repository holds 12,000 human eyes.

Dr. Gregory Hageman, a Professor of Ophthalmology at Utah’s Moran Eye Center, has devoted his professional life to fighting Age-Related Macular Degeneration – and along the way has accumulated the world’s largest collection of human eyes. His Donor Eye Repository is made up of 12,000 human eyes or 6,500 pairs, from his world travels, including samples from all ethnic groups and ages ranging from one year to 108. The collection has led to major scientific breakthroughs related to AMD, including the discovery of two genes guilty of causing 75 to 80 percent of the disease, says Hageman. “If we can buy somebody five or ten years of better vision, we’re doing a wonderful thing for the 15 million Americans that have this disease and countless numbers, 50 million worldwide.”

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