EYESIGHT INTERNATIONAL - Key Persons

Dr. Paul J. Dubord passed away Monday, September 5, 2022, in Vancouver following a short, intense battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 71. He was a renowned corneal surgeon, active member of the ophthalmology community and world leader in international eye banking and corneal transplantation. He worked in Canada, Japan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Africa, South America, Europe and especially in India to improve access to quality corneal transplants. Dr. Dubord was a professor emeritus at the University of British Columbia's Department of Ophthalmology and a board member of the Branch of International Surgery at UBC. He was active in the Eye Bank Association of America, where he held various leadership positions, including service on its medical advisory board since 1992. He also worked on expert panels of the Canadian Standards Association and the World Health Organization to develop standards for tissue transplantation. In 1993, Health Canada appointed Dr. Dubord to an expert working group to address cell tissue and organ transplantation in response to the HIV and hepatitis C spread associated with blood banking. The committee and a subsequent Canadian Standards Association group went on to generate the most comprehensive set of medical standards for cell tissue and organ donation worldwide. Dr. Dubord founded ESI in 1992, after a significant donation from a generous patient who wanted to support the work to restore sight in lower- and middle-income countries. (He had previously worked in India at the invitation of the LV Prasad Eye Institute in Hyderabad, whose partnership with ESI continues to this day.) In recognition of his contributions to ophthalmology and for his tireless humanitarian work on the international stage, Dr. Dubord was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada.