Cornea donation process and tissue quality for transplantation.

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Transplantation Science
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Corneal tissue quality is crucial for successful transplantation.
• Factors influencing tissue quality include donor characteristics and donation processes.
• Objective assessment of donated corneas is essential for clinical use.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between donor clinical and sociodemographic variables and the quality of donated corneal tissue.
• To identify predictors of corneal tissue quality for transplantation.
• To enhance the understanding of factors affecting corneal graft suitability.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective cohort epidemiological study.
• Analysis of 419 corneas processed by the Human Eye Tissue Bank in Northeast Brazil.
• Logistic regression analysis to identify predictive factors for corneal quality.

Main Results:

• Prevalence of donors: mean age 42.54 years, 73.99% male, 75.66% from the metropolitan region.
• Donors aged 45 years or younger had higher rates of excellent and good quality corneas.
• Chronological variables were significant predictors for regular and bad quality corneas.

Conclusions:

• Identifying factors influencing corneal tissue quality is vital for optimizing transplantation outcomes.
• Donor age is a key predictor of corneal tissue suitability for transplantation.
• Understanding these predictors can minimize transplant risks and improve ocular prognosis.