In addition to being the first international president of the Cornea Society, Prof. Tan has also been voted among the top three most influential people in the world in the field of ophthalmology by The Ophthalmologist’s Power List. Prof. Tan founded the Asia Cornea Society (ACS) and Association of Eye Banks of Asia (AEBA) with the aim of developing new treatment methods to minimise the incidence of corneal blindness.

With more than 20 years of experience, Prof. Donald Tan is recognised as a master in corneal transplantation and refractive surgery techniques, such as: penetrating keratoplasty (replacing the host cornea); anterior lamellar keratoplasty (replacing only the damaged cornea layers and enables healthy cornea layers); Stem cell transplantation in the treatment of diseases on the surface of the eye; the “Tooth-in-eye” method which vision for patients who have serious corneal damage; ocular surface reconstruction; artificial cornea (keratoprosthesis) surgery; Descernet’s stripping and automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK).

Usually, patients who require corneal transplantation must go abroad for treatment, which can be costly and time-consuming. In addition to hospital fees, it can be expensive to accommodate relatives; there’s also often a language barrier and geographic and cultural differences.

Following surgery overseas, patients will continue pay to travel abroad again for their follow-ups. Some families go broke to complete treatment.

Now, thanks to co-operation between FV Hospital and Prof. Donald Tan, patients can save on the cost of diagnosis and treatments. Corneas are sourced from eye banks in the US and Singapore, so patients can proactive in scheduling the time of treatment without needing to wait for a suitable donor cornea to become available.