Epidemiological Characteristics of Corneal Donors at a Tertiary Referral Center in Turkey: An Eye Bank Study.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to evaluate the demographic features of corneal donors and available data of corneas in our eye bank during a 14-year period.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The demographic features of the corneal donors, the causes of death, the death-to-excision interval, serology results, the mean endothelial cell density, and the reasons for discarding the corneas were retrospectively evaluated.

RESULTS

During the study period, 6524 corneas were retrieved from 3326 donors (76.1% male, 23.9% female). Mean donor age was 43.7 ± 16.0 years (range, 4-75 years; median 45.0 years). The most common cause of death was cardiovascular disease (n = 1467; 44.1%). The most common reason for discarding corneas was positive serology (n = 509; 78.6%). The mean endothelial cell density was 3030.1 ± 484.3 cells/mm². There was a weak negative statistically significant correlation between age and endothelial cell density (Pearson correlation coefficient r = -0.187, P < .001). Multiorgan donations made up 1.5% of the whole group (n = 50).

CONCLUSIONS

We believe that preoperative detailed evaluations of graft quality in addition to review of donor-related medical records and data from previous surgeries, after collecting them in a single system, will have a positive effect on postoperative corneal survival.