Eyebank Net: History Section

The Eye Bank Net was one of the most remarkable public-service uses of amateur radio in the United States.

The Eye Bank Net was organized in 1962 by Dr. Alson E. Braley of the Iowa Lions Eye Bank and amateur radio operator Ted Hunter. Its purpose was to locate available donor corneas and coordinate their transfer between eye banks and surgeons throughout the United States. At the time there was no internet, no national computerized database, and long-distance telephone networks were less efficient and more expensive than today. Amateur radio provided a fast nationwide communication system. 

Two or more times each day, amateur radio operators met on a scheduled HF net. Volunteers across the country would relay information about:

• Available donor corneas
• Hospitals needing tissue
• Transportation arrangements
• Contact information between eye banks and surgeons

When a cornea became available, net control stations and participating hams could rapidly distribute that information across multiple states. This often meant the difference between successful transplantation and losing usable tissue because of time constraints.

The net relied entirely on volunteer operators. By 1966, more than 100 amateur radio operators were participating in the network, operating twice daily, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

One notable operator was Wayne “Chubby” Walters, W9DOG, who served as a major net-control station from Indianapolis. His station's coverage allowed him to hear and coordinate traffic from both coasts, helping tie the nationwide system together. 

The Eye Bank Net operated for roughly three decades, from 1962 until the early 1990s. During that period it helped coordinate the transfer of more than 11,000 donor corneas for transplant procedures. Many people regained or preserved their sight because tissue could be located and moved quickly enough for surgery. 

The network remained active until about 1992, when computerized databases, modern telecommunications, and eventually internet-based coordination made the service unnecessary. By then, its mission had largely been replaced by more efficient electronic systems. 

The Eye Bank Net is often cited as an example of amateur radio's public-service value beyond disaster communications. While many people associate ham radio with emergency response, the Eye Bank Net demonstrated how volunteer radio operators could support medicine and public health on a daily basis. Its success helped build amateur radio's reputation as a practical service to society. 

Interestingly, this website was formed as part of the modern 40-Meter Eyebank Net which meets daily on 7.238 Mhz as a fellowship/public-service amateur radio net. It honors the history of the original network, although it no longer coordinates corneal transfers. 

The Eye Bank Net was essentially a human-powered, nationwide medical logistics network, decades before email, cellular phones, or the internet made such coordination routine. It was one of amateur radio's greatest real-world public service achievements.