Characterization of cornea donors at a tissue center in the city of Medellin, Colombia

The cornea transplant is considered the most frequently performed type of transplant in the world, with a demand that has been increasing in recent years. An observational descriptive study was conducted, focusing on the ocular tissue extracted from cadaveric donors from January 2019 to December 2021 at the Red Cross Eye Bank in Medellin, Colombia. This is the first epidemiological characterization of corneal donor tissues within the eye banks of our city, where high rates of violence-related deaths explain that tissue donors are mostly young individuals. This, in turn, results in excellent counts of endothelial cells and tissue viability in their microscopic studies. Additionally, there are lower rates of discarded tissues compared to similar studies.

[A summary of China's 70 years of development in diagnosis and treatment targeting corneal diseases]

Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the diagnosis and treatment technology of corneal diseases has developed rapidly. In the field of infectious keratopathy, China was the first country that discovered chlamydia trachomatis in the world, which promoted the study on the pathogenesis as well as the diagnosis and treatment of infectious keratitis, especially fungal keratitis. In the aspect of surgical technology, we have learned from other countries and innovated different types of transplantation surgeries suitable for patients with corneal diseases in China. Regarding the construction of eye banks, the cornea donation process and the operation techniques have been developed and standardized. In addition, to improve the cornea disease-related inspection level, new equipment such as specular microscopy and confocal microscopy has been introduced. These efforts have decreased corneal diseases from the first blinding eye disease to the second in our country. In the past 70 years, China's diagnosis and treatment technology in corneal diseases has achieved remarkable progresses, but there are still many shortcomings. Standing on the shoulders of the older generations of ophthalmologists, we should continue to serve the patients with corneal diseases wholeheartedly. We would like to send congratulations on the 70th anniversary of Chinese Journal of Ophthalmology with this article. ( Chin J Ophthalmol, 2020, 56: 401-408).

Eye Care Professionals' Perspectives on Eye Donation and an Eye Donation Registry for Research: A Single-Institution, Cross-Sectional Study

PURPOSE

A centralized eye donation registry for research could help to bridge the gap between patients interested in donating their eyes to science and scientists who conduct research on human eye tissue. Previous research has demonstrated patient and family support for such a registry. In this study, we assessed the views that eye care professionals have toward an eye donation registry for research.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Surveys were distributed to all 46 clinical faculty members of the Duke University Eye Center. In addition to collecting demographic information, the surveys assessed clinicians' experience with discussing eye donation with patients, described the proposed eye donation registry for research and asked how the registry would affect the clinicians' practice.

RESULTS

A total of 21 eye care professionals returned the survey. Thirty-three percent reported discussing eye donation with patients, and 43% reported that a patient has asked about donating their eyes for research on their disease. Eighty-six percent of eye care professionals reported that a centralized registry would improve the way they work with patients who express a desire to donate their eyes for research.

CONCLUSIONS

The majority of eye care professionals at our academic institution indicated that an eye donation registry for research would improve how they work with patients who are interested in donating their eyes for research on their disease. Future research should examine how best to communicate this registry to ophthalmic patients.