Gift of Sight

More than half of all Americans over 80 will suffer from cataracts, making them the leading cause of preventable blindness. While they don’t go away on their own, they can be surgically removed with a quick, highly successful procedure that can restore a person’s vision in one or both eyes. However, some people without insurance cannot afford cataract surgery.

For 36 years, Eye Center South has been operating the Gift of Sight program to help individuals in need gain access to life-changing cataract-removal surgery. Through our program, individuals with legitimate financial and medical needs can have a cataract removed for nothing out-of-pocket. Here’s what you should know about the program.

How Does Cataract Removal Change Lives?

In the 36 years that Eye Center South has been offering the Gift of Sight program, many lives have been transformed. One recent patient was Gayle Waterson, who applied for the program after learning about it from her optometrist Dr. Lauren Albert.

Gayle was experiencing severely impacted vision and was only able to perceive lights. This made it impossible for her to perform daily activities and she regularly depended on loved ones to help her. After surgery, her vision has been restored to a near-average of 20/25. She and her husband are grateful to the program, and she says the surgery has restored not only her sight, but her life.

Who Is Eligible?

To help people with the greatest need, Eye Center South has established a short list of requirements to determine eligibility. First and foremost, there must be a true financial need, meaning that the individual does not have or qualify for health insurance and that they’re willing to provide financial statements for approval.

Those who apply also need to demonstrate medical need, which involves a referral from an optometrist and a free-of-charge appointment with Eye Center South to check their vision. Visual acuity must be 20/70 or higher, which means that what the applicant is able to see at 20 feet away, the average person can see from 70 feet or farther.

How to Submit Your Application

If you or a loved one is suffering from a cataract and you believe they may be eligible for the Gift of Sight program, please don’t hesitate to apply. The process is begins with a referral from your optometrist to Eye Center South where the applicant will receive a complementary vision screening appointment.

Applications submitted in June will be reviewed promptly with surgeries scheduled for August. The applicant, or someone on their behalf, will be asked to provide one or two paragraphs explaining why they feel they’re eligible. You can find the application and full instructions here. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our team.