Cryopreservation of human cadaver corneas regenerated at 31 degrees C in a modified tissue culture medium.

Human corneas were obtained 2-82 h post mortem, cultured for 20-28 h, in a modified tissue culture medium, frozen at a controlled rate, and thawed rapidly. The thawed corneas were subjected to 20-28 h of additional culture. Immediately after thawing, a mean endothelial cell damage of 11% was indicated by trypane blue staining. The mean endothelial cell loss during the subsequent culture was 34%. This cell loss was not related to post mortem time, to donor age, to cell loss during the primary culture, or to endothelial cell density.