The pool of cornea transplant donors — often limited to those 65 years of age and younger — should be expanded to include donors up to 75 years of age. This finding emerged in a nationwide study that included the Kellogg Eye Center as a study site.
The five-year transplant success rate was 86 percent for transplants performed with corneas from donors ages 12-65 and from donors ages 66-75, according to a study by the National Eye Institute (NEI) of the National Institutes of Health and published in the April issue of Ophthalmology. The cornea is a clear dome-shaped surface that covers the front of the eye, offers protection and helps focus light entering the eye.
The availability of donor corneas has been adequate for the past 10 years in the United States, where more than 33,000 corneal transplants are performed each year. Recent changes in Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations, however, likely will cause a decrease in the supply of donated corneas. The new regulations took effect in June 2007 and require additional screening and testing of potential donors for contagious diseases, registration of eye banks, more detailed records and labels, and stricter quarantine procedures.
“This pivotal study on transplantation indicates that corneas from older individuals are just as successful as those from younger donors,” says Dr. Alan Sugar, a nationally known cornea surgeon at the Kellogg Eye Center. “One result of the study is an expanded pool of cornea donors.” Sugar says the study also will help surgeons learn more about the procedure itself.
“The study team is analyzing additional data that will help us understand more fully the factors involved in a successful cornea transplant,” he says. The Cornea Donor Study will continue for another five years, allowing more time to follow patients and interpret data.
The Kellogg Eye Center is one of 80 sites that participated in the Cornea Donor Study, which included more than 1,101 participants and 105 surgeons from across the United States.
Donor corneas were provided by 43 participating eye banks, with the Midwest Eye-Bank being the leading supplier of tissue. All donor corneas met Eye Bank Association of America standards for human corneal transplantation and were consistent with eye banks’ tissue ratings of good to excellent quality.
Michigan residents who wish to become donors can register at www.giftoflifemichigan.org or at any Secretary of State Branch office. More information is available from the Michigan Eye-Bank at www.michiganeyebank.org.
