Welcome and thank you for checking out the official website of the Eye Bank Foundation of the Philippines, Inc. (EBFP)! We are a non-profit, humanitarian NGO, founded in 1994. We own and operate the Santa Lucia International Eye Bank of Manila, or simply the “Eye Bank” .
This central eye banking facility is dedicated to the retrieval, processing and distribution of corneal tissue throughout the Philippines. First located at the Makati Medical Center in 1995, the eye bank moved to the Sentro Oftalmologico Jose Rizal (SOJR) in PGH in 2005 where it remains to this day.
The EBFP and the subsequent Eye Bank were created in response to the desperate need for transplantable corneal tissue to restore sight to the blind and visually impaired due to corneal disease. And while we have made a dent towards alleviating corneal blindness, the dent is small compared to the great need for corneal transplantation in the Philippines and in the world.
It is roughly estimated that only around 215,000 corneal transplants are performed worldwide each year, while the actual global backlog is around 12.7 million people waiting for a transplant. In the Philippines, we distribute roughly 500 corneal tissues for transplant yearly, but we need many more. At any one point in time, we have a backlog of 500 to 600 people waiting for corneal transplants.
Our efforts to increase awareness of and support for corneal donation don’t stop, but our NGO cannot do this alone. We need the help of government, schools, the church, civic organizations and people like you to institutionalize corneal donation. Without donated corneas there can be no corneal transplantation. And without corneal transplantation, millions of people remain deprived of the chance to see clearly and live life to the fullest.
I invite you to read through our website, learn about the work we do, who our partners are, and how each of us can leave a legacy of vision for the blind and be heroes in peoples’ eyes.
May God bless us all.
Ma. Dominga 'Minguita' B. Padilla, M.D.
Founding President and CEO
The Eye Bank Foundation of the Philippines (EBFP), established on October 16, 1995, is a non-profit, non-government, humanitarian organization that owns and operates a medical eye bank named the Santa Lucia International Eye Bank of Manila (SLIEB). The SLIEB is a state-of-the-art eye, internationally-accredited eye banking facility dedicated to the collection, processing, evaluation, storage and equitable distribution of quality corneal/eye tissues for transplant, research and education. It is committed to its mission of bringing the gift of sight to corneally blind individuals through corneal transplants, regardless of age, gender, race, religion or financial status.
The EBFP is an accredited Non-Profit, Non-government organization member of the Philippine Council for NGO Certification (PCNC), and therefore all donations to the EBFP are tax deductible under Philippine Law. The foundation employs highly-skilled and specially-trained individuals such as Registered Nurses (RNs) and Medical Technologists (RMTs) as Eye Bank Technicians and Donor Transplant Coordinators. Registered social workers are also an integral part of the roster of eye bank employees.
To date, the Eye Bank has forged many partnerships to help it fulfill its mission. Among its partners are: the Philippine National Police (PNP), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Department of Health – Philippine Network for Organ Sharing, National Kidney and Transplant Institute, leading medical institutions such as St. Luke’s Medical Center, Makati Medical Center, Philippine General Hospital, leading funeral homes such as Arlington Memorial Chapels and Crematory, Loyola Funeral Homes, Ayala Foundation, ABS-CBN and various organizations in Metro Manila and neighboring regions. In cooperation with these invaluable partners, the Eye Bank is able to help uplift lives all over the country as well as in various parts of the world where corneal blindness is a major problem.