I recently saw a patient in clinic who has been through a tough stretch in life. He has exotropia, which means his eyes drift apart, and this causes him constant double vision, which is why he came to see me. I have also seen his children as patients, and I know his is a family that tries hard, but has many challenges.
During my clinic visit with him, he decided he wanted to have surgery to fix his exotropia, and so we picked a date. I explained that I would need to see him again in clinic once more prior to surgery to remeasure his strabismus to help me with surgical planning, and that for best accuracy, he needed to be wearing glasses; he is significantly nearsighted, and didn't have glasses, so I prescribed him a new pair.
The day of the pre-operative visit arrived, and I entered the room, eager to see him again. Timidly, he let me know that he hadn't been able to get the eyeglasses I had prescribed, because he couldn't afford them. He went on to say that because he couldn't see well without glasses, he wasn't able to drive a car.
Fortunately, most people in the United States are not in the situation where they must choose between being able to see and being able to eat, but many are. This man needed more than just surgery to realign his eyes, and I realized that getting him glasses would likely have an even larger impact than fixing his double vision.
Thinking quickly, I remembered my friend and colleague Dr. Jeffrey Lynch, whom I met while we were both training in ophthalmology at the University of Iowa. Dr. Lynch, recognizing this same issue that faced my patient, started a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization known as ReSpectacle, which, via volunteers, collects high-quality used eyeglasses, cleans them, photographs them, and categorizes them into an online database which patients and providers domestically and internationally can access.
On ReSpectacle's website, the patient or eye doctor enters the patient's glasses prescription, and instantly, the screen displays a number of different possible "matches," complete with a photograph, a description of the glasses, including the prescription, and a color-coded numerical score that describes how well each option matches the patient's own prescription. The user selects the desired glasses, enters a small amount of basic demographic information, and the glasses are shipped for free to the address desired. Amazing!
I recently posed a few questions to Dr. Lynch, who kindly agreed to be interviewed for this story.
MW: What prompted you to start ReSpectacle?
JL: A decade ago on an ophthalmic mission trip...I was disappointed with the haphazard organization and poor quality of the used glasses we had available to us using a traditional eyeglass recycling model. There are many people eager to donate their used glasses and there are many people eager to accept them, the challenge lies in effectively transferring the resource.
As I saw it, the problem was two-fold: 1) A glasses prescription is highly specific to an individual (there are over 10 million possible eyeglass prescriptions) 2) An acceptable style frame is often as critical as (or in some cultures more critical than) the accuracy of the prescription.
A website seemed like an ideal location to store large volumes of donations yet keep them highly searchable and accessible. The inclusion of photographs & other descriptors gives our users the dignity of choosing a preferred style among available options.
MW: What has been the biggest challenge in starting or running ReSpectacle?
JL: Finding the time to give the organization the attention it deserves, among competing responsibilities and interests as a young physician and parent.
MW: How do you envision ReSpectacle growing in the future?
JL: We expect it to continue growing small chapters organically at academic medical centers, taking advantage of the natural migration patterns of our medical student volunteers as they 'match' to different residency programs across the country. Simultaneously, we will be collaborating and developing our own chapters that can accommodate larger volumes of glasses and offer quicker turnaround times on orders. At some point we expect to grow our network to include international locations as good opportunities arise.
MW: How many pairs of eyeglasses has ReSpectacle recycled?
JL: We recently processed our 10,000th order here in the United States, and have recycled a similar number internationally.
A woman in Nepal with her glasses prescription, which ReSpectacle was able to match and provide. Used with permission.
MW: Is the process for obtaining glasses internationally any different from doing so within the United States?
JL: Yes, currently we do not support shipping of individual orders internationally, as the cost is prohibitive. Instead, we partner with mission groups or established eye care providers in underserved areas abroad and supply glasses to them in batches. They will typically send us 'mugshots' of patients holding their prescriptions, which are then matched to the best pair of glasses in our database taking into account the prescription power and gender/style. We have worked with over 30 mission groups and offer significant flexibility depending on their needs.
MW: My patient was in disbelief that something like this was even possible, and he was the happiest I have seen him, thanking me with a big smile over and over again. Thanks, Dr. Lynch, for helping him, and thousands of others, enjoy life more fully with better vision.
To learn more about ReSpectacle, including how you can support the cause, click here.