Service Set for Eye Surgeon H. George Blasdel
A memorial service has been scheduled for 2 p.m. Sept. 12 at St. James Episcopal Church on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles for H. George Blasdel, an ophthalmologic surgeon known nationally for his work both with people and animals.
Dr. Blasdel, whose Aug. 1 death was reported this week, was 72 and had suffered a stroke.
A pioneer in corneal transplant surgery, Blasdel was one of the organizers of the Los Angeles Eye Bank and early in his career removed cataracts from a Seeing Eye dog, restoring its services to its blind owner. The surgery was reported in national newsmagazines and newspapers.
In 1955, in experimental underwater surgery at Marineland, Blasdel did a corneal transplant on a bat ray whose ability to survive had been imperiled by blindness. The 30-minute operation, done with an air-lung device in 26 feet of water, was called the first underwater surgery in medical history by the Encyclopedia Britannica.
From 1958 to 1979 he served as president of the American Eye Bank Foundation, helping obtain donor corneas throughout the United States.
Survivors include his wife, Glorya, a daughter, son and granddaughter.
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