Worker gets 'gift of sight' after cornea donations

A man who works for the NHS transplant service says he has been given the "precious gift of sight" to watch his granddaughter grow up after receiving three cornea transplants.

Toni Woodward started working at the NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) in Filton, near Bristol, 31 years ago, not long after it opened as "the Bristol Eye Bank" in 1986.

The 56-year-old shared his surprise after finding out he needed a transplant which was given to him in the same building he works in and said he was grateful for the families and people who continue to donate.

Founding member Professor John Armitage said he has seen first hand how donations transformed his colleague's life and "the lives of others".

Woodward, a dad of two and grandfather of one from Weston-super-Mare, was born with congenital glaucoma, a condition where there is high pressure inside the eye.

He underwent various surgeries as a child, but never expected he would need a cornea transplant.

"I can carry on with the activities that I enjoy and importantly, do the work that I do, to make sure that others also receive that precious gift of sight," he said.

"Please, consider cornea donation and register your decision to donate on the Organ Donor Register," he added.

Woodward is now on the waiting list for his fourth transplant.

Looking back to when the centre first opened, Armitage said they sent out 59 corneas within its first year.

"Then very quickly, we were issuing over 1,000 a year from Bristol," Armitage said.

"It showed a real unmet need.

"I can truly appreciate the difference that the cornea transplants made to his [Toni's] life – and how much transplantation can improve the lives of others."

According to the NHS, more than 4,000 people in England are living with sight loss and around 5,071 cornea transplants in the UK reported to NHSBT in 2024/25.

Kyle Bennett, assistant director of tissue and eye services at NHSBT, said: "We always need more people to donate and encourage everybody to register their donation decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register, so that others like Toni can receive the gift of sight."

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