The Southern Eye Bank, located in New Orleans, Louisiana is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit eye bank supplying eye tissue to ophthalmologists in Louisiana, throughout the United States, and internationally. Southern Eye Bank was founded in 1947, is the fourth oldest eye bank in the United States and the only one in the southern United States until 1953. Southern Eye Bank is a fully accredited charter member of the Eye Bank Association of America.

In the field of medicine during the 20th century, the major development was the successful transplantation of human organs and tissues. The first tissue to be successfully transplanted in humans was the cornea. Later came the kidneys, skin, hearts, lungs, pancreas, and other organs and tissues. Such transplantation of human parts was greatly enhanced by a system of “banking” these parts so as to provide for an orderly acquisition, storage, and distribution of the donor tissues and organs.

Southern Eye Bank is proud to state that the gift of sight was granted to nearly 700 people, in 2008, with tissue recovered by our organization.