Tiana Bane, Cornea Transplant Recipient

In June of 2013, my daughter Tiana got a scratch on her eye. This seemingly small scratch led to an infection that started deteriorating her corneal tissue quickly. From our trip to the emergency room, the hospital immediately admitted her for treatment. She began receiving drops every hour around the clock for what would turn into a weeklong stay at the hospital. The pain was so intense that she couldn’t have sunlight or even watch television. Through all of this, we were so thankful to her eye doctor. Dr. Kaufman, who was so committed to Tiana, was checking on her condition every day.

For a person who loves to read as much as Tiana, not being able to focus on the pages in front of her was very hard. Her many extracurricular activities were put on hold as she healed. One of those activities was her participation in the Law and Leadership Institution Program at UC Law. In addition to this, she’s was a cheerleader and played the clarinet in the band. In the summer of 2013, she was not able to do any of the activities due to her condition. It was a rough summer for Tiana.

Within days of her transplant, she was able to see even better than she had before surgery. The cornea transplant gave my daughter back to her normal teenage life. She is now happy to be doing all her regular activities.

After going through this experience, we are both proud to be registered donors. Tiana and I are very thankful for the donor and their selfless choice as well as everyone else who was able to make her vision possible.

-Jawana Bane, mother of Tiana Bane