Iowa State Patrol Trooper Richard Conn used to feel a bit irritated when, as part of his law enforcement duties, he was asked to deliver donated eye tissue for corneal transplantation or research.

Conn’s feelings mellowed considerably after the daughter of a fellow trooper benefited from a corneal transplant. The sight-saving procedure was made possible by the Iowa Lions Eye Bank and the corneal transplant program at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

“After their ordeal, I would do anything to help deliver a cornea,” Conn says.

Little did Conn suspect his support for the program would grow even stronger. In December 1999, Conn’s son, Jim, sustained serious eye damage when a shotgun accidentally discharged during a hunting trip. Conn was treated at Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines, then received a corneal transplant on September 28, 2000, performed by John Sutphin, M.D., an ophthalmologist and corneal transplant surgeon at UI Hospitals and Clinics.

Conn’s vision has improved to 20/250, with a chance for further improvement.

“We’re just very grateful for everything that’s been done,” Rick Conn says.

Today, state troopers like Conn continue to go above and beyond the call of duty by transporting donor eyes, while 400 Lions and Lioness Clubs in Iowa provide much-needed educational and financial support to the Iowa Lions Eye Bank.

The eye bank and corneal transplant programs both were established in 1955 by Alson Braley, M.D., in partnership with the Iowa State Patrol and the Lions Clubs of Iowa. BraleyÑan ophthalmologist at UI Iowa Hospitals and ClinicsÑwas the program’s instigator and its first medical director. State troopers serve as couriers for eye tissue transport, while the Lions Clubs of Iowa provide volunteerism and fund-raising support.

Patricia Mason, eye bank director, said the organization’s mission, like that of UI Hospitals and Clinics, extends well beyond the state’s borders. The organization reported a record year in 2000, with 1,408 donor eyes received and 832 corneas provided for transplant—a 113 percent increase from the 390 corneas provided in 1999.

“We feel the program is a wonderful service to people everywhere, made possible by teamwork and cooperation,” Mason says.