Press Room

Tissue Banks International Announces Dr. Anthony Aldave Will Head International Advisory Committee

Global Cornea Transplant Leader to Head Team of International Physicians Advising Eye and Tissue Banking Programs

BALTIMORE, Maryland, March 4, 2010 – Tissue Banks International announced today that Anthony J. Aldave, M.D. will be the new chair of the organization’s International Advisory Committee (IAC). TBI's IAC is comprised of surgeons and medical professionals from around the world who provide guidance and expertise to TBI's International Federation of Eye and Tissue Banks in the efforts to help advance eye and tissue banking around the world. Dr. Aldave succeeds Akef El-Maghraby, M.D., who headed the committee for the past five years.

Dr. Aldave is Associate Professor of Ophthalmology and Director of Cornea Service at the Jules Stein Eye Institute, The University of California, Los Angeles, and, in addition to his busy clinical practice, directs the Institute’s Corneal Genetics Laboratory. Recognized as a leader in his field, Dr. Aldave has authored over 100 publications, including more than 60 peer‐reviewed manuscripts, has been invited to give more than 100 scientific presentations at local, national, and international meetings and currently serves as a scientific reviewer for 12 ophthalmology and genetics journals. He is also the Associate Medical Director of TBI's Doheny Eye & Tissue Transplant Bank and a member of the TBI National Medical & Scientific Advisory Committee.

 

Dr. Aldave's international activities include giving invited lectures, teaching advanced forms of corneal transplant surgery to leading corneal specialists around the globe, and facilitating eye bank development. In just the last two years, Dr. Aldave has lectured and/or worked in Armenia, Bahrain, Brazil, India, Iran, Malaysia, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey.

 

Dr. Aldave's appointment coincides with one of TBI's major initiatives to advance eye banking and corneal transplantation internationally. In late 2009, TBI launched the distribution of the VisionGraft Sterile Cornea, which is shelf stable for one year and allows TBI to serve areas of the world that cannot be reached with traditionally preserved corneas because of time restrictions on use of tissue.

 

"Dr. Aldave will bring not only his obvious medical expertise, but a commitment to sharing knowledge about the best surgical techniques and eye banking practices to better serve patients in our global community," said Jerry Cole, TBI President and CEO. "TBI is recognized as a leader in eye and tissue banking worldwide, and we share Dr. Aldave’s desire to help advance corneal transplantation wherever possible."

 

"This is an exciting opportunity to lead a forward-thinking group that is dedicated to helping patients in medically underserved countries through medical assistance and innovation," said Dr. Aldave. "I look forward to working with other IAC members and TBI staff to carry out this important work."

About TBI/Tissue Banks International

Non-profit TBI/Tissue Banks International, founded as a single eye bank in 1962, today is a far-reaching network of medical eye and tissue banks throughout the United States and around the world. TBI’s mission is "to relieve human suffering by facilitating the donation, retrieval, processing and equitable distribution of corneal and other cadaveric tissue for transplantation, research and other medical needs worldwide." TBI’s International Federation of Eye and Tissue Banks was formed in 1989. For more information from TBI, visit www.tbionline.org.