The importance of donor characteristics, post-mortem time and preservation time for use and efficacy of donated corneas for posterior lamellar keratoplasty.

Abstract

PURPOSE\nThe aim of this study is to examine whether donor age, death-to-retrieval time (DRT) and death-to-preservation time (DPT) as well as total preservation time affect donor cornea suitability for endothelial keratoplasty (EK) or penetrating keratoplasty (PK).\n\n\nMETHODS\nA registry-based study was performed identifying 3248 corneas donated between 2011 and 2017. Data regarding donated corneas were extracted from The Danish Cornea Bank and donor medical records and evaluated for missing information. The primary outcome was whether ECD at preservation (ECD-P) or at release (ECD-R) was >2000\xa0cells/mm2 .\n\n\nRESULTS\nLogistic regression for ECD-P showed a significant negative effect of increasing age (OR: 1.07, 95%CI: 1.05;1.08, p\xa0<\xa00.001) on donor suitability. Higher ECD-P had a significant positive effect on graft eligibility (OR: 1.007 95%CI: 1.003;1.010, p\xa0<\xa00.001). No significant effect of donor sex (p\xa0=\xa00.547), DRT (p\xa0=\xa00.289) or DPT (p\xa0=\xa00.102) on donor suitability for EK or PK (Chi-squared test).\n\n\nCONCLUSION\nHigh donor age and low ECD-P negatively affect the suitability of donor corneas for EK/PK whereas DRT and DPT did not affect graft suitability.