We sometimes get asked, "Why do I need an eye exam when I can see great?"

An eye exam doesn't just check your visual acuity--we are also looking for a number of treatable eye diseases that have few or no visual symptoms in their early stages. In fact, the three leading causes of legal blindness in the United States all start with almost no visual symptoms detectable by the person wit the disease. The three diseases are macular degeneration, glaucoma, and diabetic retinopathy. Each of these diseases gets more prevalent as people age. That is why regular eye exams are recommended to become more frequent as adults get older.

Macular Degeneration: The leading cause of legal blindness in the United States is a treatable--but not curable--disease. Early detection and treatment can significantly improve the long-term outcome. In the earliest stages, often when people are unaware that they have a problem, treating the disease with a very specific vitamin regimen called AREDS 2 can...

An old Creek Indian proverb states, "We warm our hands by the fires we did not build, we drink the water from the wells we did not dig, we eat the fruit of the trees we did not plant, and we stand on the shoulders of giants who have gone before us."

In 1961, the Eye Bank Association of America (EBAA) was formed. This association stewards over 80 eye banks in the US with over 60,000 recipients each year of corneal tissue that restores sight to blind people. Over one million men, women, and children have had vision restored and pain relieved from eye injury or disease. The Eye Bank Association of America is truly a giant whom shoulders that we stand upon today. Their service and foresight into helping patients with blindness is remarkable.

It is important to give back the gift of sight. You may be asking, “how does this affect me?” On the back of your drivers license form there is a box that can be checked for being an organ donor. Many people forego this option because they...