This presentation will review the concept of ocular immune privilege – a condition in which immune responses that occur at extraocular sites are either blocked or suppressed within the eye. Studies in mice have revealed that multiple anatomical, physiological, and immunoregulatory processes conspire to tightly regulate immune-mediated inflammation in the eye. Corneal transplants are beneficiaries of ocular immune privilege and enjoy a success rate that is unrivaled in the field of organ transplantation. This presentation will also briefly discuss the major strategies that protect ocular tissues from immune-mediated inflammation and coincidentally promote the survival of corneal transplants. The presentation will describe conditions in which immune privilege is terminated in order to protect the host from life-threatening infections even at the risk of blindness.