Australia pioneers international eye-banking course

The international course will be offered by the Center for Eye Research Australia (CERA) and The University of Melbourne to institutionalise training and qualification of professionals responsible for storing human eye tissue for transplant surgery.Dr Grae Pollock from CERA’s Lions Eye Donation Service said, “The international course has been developed in conjunction with sector partners the Eye Bank Association of Australia and New Zealand (EBAANZ) and Donatelife Australia.”The online course will be in two sesters. The first is a 12-week single subject minimum qualification Specialist Certificate, the second is an advanced course for two additional subjects with a Graduate Certificate level.Pollock will lead the teaching team and course acadics, which will be placed under the auspices of the University of Melbourne’s Medical School.The course was designed to answer the dands of an erging eye-banking sector, as well as the technical advancents on an international scale seeking for high level of educational standards with minimum professional qualifications for stakeholders.“Graduates will transition beyond the fundamentals of eye banking and erge as knowledgeable professionals and eye tissue custodians. They will develop skills that can be applied to all stages of eye tissue managent including donor selection and recovery, recipient donor managent, tissue examination and legal and regulatory requirents,” Pollock added.Applications for both courses are already being accepted for the Specialist Certificate offering and sessions will start in Septber.