Keeping an eye on the eye bank
CMAJ 1997;156:631
I read with interest the 2 articles "Dr. James MacCallum: patron and friend of Canada's Group of Seven" (CMAJ 1996;155:1333-5 [in brief / en bref]), by Roger Burford Mason, and "First cornea transplants meant blind WW I veterans saw first sights in 40 years" (CMAJ 1996;155:1325-6 [in brief / en bref]), by Peter Wilton. Both articles are linked to the University of Toronto Department of Ophthalmology, yet made little reference to this institution.
The article on James MacCallum, who practised ophthalmology in Toronto for 50 years, stated that he encouraged members of the Group of Seven to pursue their art and exhibits. In fact, in his time he was considered the most outstanding ophthalmologist in Ontario. His first position at the university was as lecturer in pharmacology and therapeutics, and he also assisted the professor of gynecology. He then did postgraduate ophthalmic study in London, England, before returning to work at the Toronto General Hospital and the Hospital for Sick Children. He was professor of ophthalmology at the University of Toronto from 1914 to 1929, published widely on ophthalmologic conditions and represented the university on the council of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario.1 His patronage of the Group of Seven was without a doubt his major legacy.
Wilton's article on corneal transplants alludes to the university but neglects the important role it played in establishing the Eye Bank of Canada (Ontario Division) in conjunction with the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB). The concept of a Toronto eye bank arose during a discussion between Col. E.A. Baker and Professor A.J. Elliot in May 1950.
The CNIB contributed $500 to the university's Department of Ophthalmology to help establish the eye bank. Its first medical director was Dr. Hugh Ormsby, who obtained funding from the federal health department in 1955 and established research programs in corneal transplantation under Elliot. In 1959 Elliot appointed Dr. P.K. Basu Stapells director of ophthalmic research. Anne Wolfe, who managed the eye bank and built up the donor system, eventually handed management responsibility to Dr. Marilyn Schneider, and Fides Coloma succeeded Schneider in 1996. Dr. David Rootman has been responsible for directing the bank since 1991, and Professor William Dixon, the senior medical adviser, maintains close links between the bank and the CNIB. Since 1966 the eye bank has been funded by a Ministry of Health contract grant and an operational grant from the CNIB. It is the only transplantation program housed on site at the University of Toronto.
The ophthalmology department is proud of its historical links to the Group of Seven and its continuing links, via the Eye Bank of Canada, with the CNIB and the provincial government.
Graham E. Trope, MB
Professor and Head
University of Toronto
Ophthalmologist-in-Chief
The Toronto Hospital
Toronto, Ont.
Reference
- Roy P, Basu P, Trope G. Ophthalmology in Toronto from 1887 to 1946: a historical review. Can J Ophthalmol 1996;31:171-4.
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