The full name of this association is the European Eye Bank Association, abbreviated as 'The Association' or 'EEBA'.

Founded in 1989, The Association was formally recognised as a non-profit association on the 20th of May 2004 in accordance with Italian law and is governed in respect of and within the limits of state and regional laws and by the general principles of the Italian legal system.  The legal seat of EEBA is situated in Italy and its present address is Via Paccagnella n. 11 - Padiglione Rama, 30174 Zelarino - Venice.

The Association is formed for the advancement of eye banking. Its Mission is to help provide tissues and cells of optimum quality and safety for transplantation and the treatment of eye diseases, according to the highest medical and scientific standards, as set out in the Council of Europe’s Guide to the Quality and Safety of Tissues and Cells for Human Application, and making them available to as many patients in need as possible in an ethical and humanitarian way, in accordance with the Council of Europe’s Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Dignity of the Human Being with regard to the Application of Biology and Medicine: Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine (ETS No 164; Oviedo, April 1997), the World Health Organization’s Guiding Principles on Human Cell, Tissue and Organ Transplantation (as endorsed by the 63rd World Health Assembly, May 2010, Resolution WHA63.22) and applicable national and international laws and regulations.

To this end, The Association:

• contributes to establishing a sufficient availability of tissues and cells for the treatment of eye diseases
• works for the development and maintenance of standards for the practice of eye banking in Europe
• establishes and maintains an agreed set of EEBA Standards
• promotes data collection on eye banking activities (ocular tissue procurement; donor selection and screening; corneal storage,evaluation, preparation and testing methods and techniques), together with graft outcomes in order to validate eye bank techniques
• facilitates the interchange of information between eye banks
• provides opportunities for the discussion of all aspects of eye banking practice including donor selection, procurement, preservation, storage and tissue quality assessment
• encourages relevant research and development
• provides informed comment to external agencies
• fosters education and training in eye banking
• maintains national and international links with eye banking and ocular tissue transplant communities and relevant bodies
• makes knowledge in the field of eye banking available to any person for the general good of society