Abstract
Purpose :
Explanted donor corneas are highly needed for the surgical management of patients with severe corneal diseases. The request for corneal donation to the overwhelmed family members can be a limitation to the acquisition of donor corneas. The aim of this study was to determine if the body donors from the Institute of Anatomy are a suitable source of donor corneas.
Methods :
At the Institute of Anatomy, corneas are obtained from those body donors who have consented to the removal of tissues for transplantation purposes during their lifetime. Following the report of a death, the LIONS Eye Bank is informed and the contraindications of corneal explantation are clarified. The corneal removal is not possible if blood sampling from the donor is not possible within 24 hours post-mortem.
Results :
The Institute of Anatomy had 70 body donors in the period from January to August 2018. Out of these, 29 (41.4%) were reported to the Eye Bank. Contraindications, like sepsis and central nervous diseases of unknown origin, were present in 8 donors (11.4%), and the blood sampling was not technically possible in one deceased person (1.4%). The corneas were extracted from 20 (28.5%) donors. Of these 40 corneas, 13 (32.5%) were successfully transplanted. From the non-transplanted corneas, 4 (10%) were microbiologically infected, 12 (30%) had a positive serology and 11 (27.5%) had endothelial cell counts < 2000/ mm2. The age of the donors (mean 66.7 ± 13.2 years) was not critical since the quality of the corneas depends on the number of the endothelial cells (mean: 2315 ± 90 (range: 1642-2847) per mm2). The non-transplanted tissues were used for research.
Conclusions :
Explanted corneas from the Institute of Anatomy are a valuable supportive option in obtaining corneal grafts, which is why we are working further on expending this cooperation.
This abstract was presented at the 2019 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Vancouver, Canada, April 28 - May 2, 2019.