When Jamal Moore graduated from high school, he worried that a full, independent adulthood might not be within his reach. His friends were getting their driver’s licenses and pursing their goals, but Jamal felt left behind because he was losing his eyesight. His future seemed increasingly dim. After a series of medical appointments, Jamal was diagnosed with keratoconus, a blinding eye disease that causes the cornea to thin and gradually bulge outward into a cone shape. He learned that his condition could be cured by corneal transplantation.
In 2018, Jamal received the first of two sight-restoring cornea transplants, both with donor eye tissue provided by The Eye-Bank. Jamal now moves through the world with clarity— in his vision and his perspective. He now has a driver’s license, is married, and has achieved personal and professional goals. Last year, Jamal and his wife welcomed their first child, a son. Jamal is grateful every day for his gift of sight, but one joy eclipses all others: the ability to see his child.
Becoming a dad and being able to see my son’s birth…changed my life completely.
Today, he takes pleasure in the way his young son interacts with the world, the satisfaction that spreads across his son’s face when something new clicks into place. These fleeting, luminous experiences are ones Jamal knows he would never have witnessed without the extraordinary generosity of his eye donors.
You can give the gift of sight to someone in need today by signing up at on the New York State Donate Life Registry here. To learn more about Jamal’s story, watch his testimonial video here.