[Analysis of current status of eye bank construction in Western China]

To evaluate the current status of eye bank construction in Western China.

The numbers of eye banks, equipments of eye banks, methods of donor cornea preservation, fund for managing eye banks, technicians of eye banks, and difficulties in the construction of eye bank were surveyed by questionnaires from ophthalmology associations and eye banks in the following provinces and city: Sichuan province, Yunnan province, Guizhou province, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, Tibet autonomous region, Shanxi province, Gansu province, Ningxia Hui autonomous region, Qinghai province, Xinjiang Weiwuer autonomous region, Neimonggu autonomous region, and city of Chongqing before March 2003, and the numbers of eye banks and donor corneas obtained from January 1999 to March 2003 were also included in the study.

The current situation of eye bank construction in Western China showed: (1) There were total 8 eye banks in 6 provinces among the 12 provinces and city of Western China. The mean coverage rate of eye bank in Western China was 50%. There were two eye banks in Chongqing and Shanxi separately, one eye bank in Sichuan, Yunnan, Gansu and Xinjiang respectively. (2) The fundamental equipment of each eye bank included super-clean worktable, slit-lamp microscope, refrigerator, and liquid nitrogen jar. There were 5 specular microscopes and 6 computers in the 8 eye banks of Western China. The moist chamber and medium-term corneal preserving medium were used as short term and medium-term storage methods to keep the endothelial cell survival of donor cornea. As a long term preservation of corneal donor, glycerine dehydration and deep low temperature were still used regularly. (3) financial support of eye bank was from hospital, government assigned fund, international Orbis organization and etc. (4) There were only one or two technicians in majority of the eye banks investigated in the study. (5) From January 1999 to March 2003, community education regarding to donation of eye was carried out forty-two times. During the same period, the donated cornea was added up to 156, and 126 of them were used in clinical transplantation. The difficulties in the construction of eye banks in Western China included: the amount of donated cornea was not enough; the technical exchange and cooperation between the eye banks were little; the patients could not afford the cost of transplantation surgery.

The current situation of eye bank construction in Western China was behind that of rest areas in China, and the development of eye banks in Western China was not equal.