1. A method for confirming the identity of an individual while shielding that individual's personal data, comprising the steps of : i) capturing at least one image of the iris of a first individual and storing the iris image in a central database; ii) assigning a unique identification code to the iris image without reference to the first individual's personal information; iii) comparing a subsequent iris image with the contents of the central database; and iv) if a match between the subsequent iris image is found with a stored iris image in step iii), transmitting the unique identification code corresponding to the matched stored iris image.