Ingrid Schunder is the Director of Donor Logistics for Miracles In Sight. She has 16 years of experience in eye and tissue donation. Her educational background includes a BA in Psychology and a BS in Education. Prior to working in the field of eye and tissue donation, Ingrid taught high school Spanish and English. Ingrid is currently completing her MBA and leadership studies.
The Mission of Miracles In Sight is to recover, process and distribute ocular tissue for the restoration of sight through corneal transplantation, and related medical therapy and research.
Over the course of my career, I have had the good fortune to train over 100 recovery technicians to support this mission. Currently, Miracles In Sight has 34 technicians performing recoveries in both North and South Carolina. It is my responsibility to orchestrate the logistical operation of the technical staff during the donor evaluation and tissue recovery, followed by the safe transport of the corneas to our lab. I, along with the Recovery Services Supervisor, ensure that our Surgical Recovery Specialists (SRS) in the field are highly skilled, trained and educated in order honor and preserve the gift our donors and families have so selflessly given. The patients who receive these corneas can rest assured that these gifts from the donor families are handled with care, professionalism and with every expectation of a successful transplant outcome. I am extremely proud of every Surgical Recovery Specialist I have the privilege of working with.
I am an educator at heart. It gives me great pleasure and pride to instruct others on such important issues as donation in general, but most specifically, corneal transplantation. One of the most rewarding moments in my career was being given the opportunity to teach ocular anatomy classes and corneal recovery techniques to the Ophthalmic Paramedic students and the Eye Bank Technicians at Dr. Shroff’s Charity Eye Hospital in New Delhi, India. The young ladies in the Paramedic School are educated in ophthalmology, then given an opportunity to return to their small villages and help treat, diagnose and refer Indian citizens with visual impairments to the hospital for treatment, or to receive a corneal transplant if necessary. The technicians at the eye bank are trained to perform corneal recoveries. Transplants occur at the charity hospital, regardless of the patient’s ability to pay. My participation in this education process made me feel as though we had carried the Miracles In Sight Mission to the other side of the world. There is no greater accomplishment than that.
