[The Cornea Bank Debrecen is thirty years old]

Objective: To present the 30 years of operation of the Eye Bank Debrecen (1994–2023), the demographic characteristics of corneal donors, the procurement, storage, utilization, and distribution of donor tissues, moreover, to disclose the long-term results of eye bank practice. Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of eye bank practices between 1994 and 2023 at the Department of Ophthalmology, University of Debrecen. We collected data on corneal donation (gender and age of donor, cause of death, time from death to removal, preservation, and finally transplantation of donor tissue), preserved corneas (endothelial cell density), and operations (type of intervention, indication). Our bank collects tissue from cadavers, multiorgan, and living donors. Donors are stored in hypothermic conditions for a maximum of 14 days. Our activities also include the preservation, deep freezing and use of amniotic membrane, as well as the storage and use of fascia lata. Results: The Cornea Bank Debrecen performed 3270 corneal preservations between 1994 and 2023. Based on the data of the preserved corneas, 57.8% of the corneoscleral discs derived from cadaver, 37.6% from multiorgan and 4.6% from living donor. The mean age of donors was 55.5 ± 11.8 years. The average endothelial cell density of donor corneas was 2235.6 ± 158/mm2. The mean time between death and enucleation from the pathology institute was 12.3 ± 5.2 hours and the mean time between death and preservation was 14.9 ± 6.3 hours. After preservation (+4.0 °C Eusol-C, Alchimia, Italy), donor tissue was used at an average of 6.1 ± 2.3 days. Of the preserved corneas, 20.3% were discarded, the most common reason being serological positivity (hepatitis B and C in 25.6% of non-transplanted donor corneas). Based on the eye bank data, a total of 2864 corneal transplantations were performed between 1994 and 2023. The most common surgical indication was bullous keratopathy (21.6%). The rate of lamellar surgical techniques was 6.4% from 2011 to 2023. From 2006 to 2023, 312 amniotic membrane transplantations were performed. Conclusion: The Cornea Bank Debrecen has been continuously developing since its foundation, complying with the legal requirements and European professional standards. Donor harvesting from cadaver, multiorgan and living donors is also feasible. In addition to corneas, amniotic membrane and fascia lata tissue are also available in our bank, providing a background for the surgical treatment of various ophthalmological pathologies. Orv Hetil. 2025; 166(9): 341–350.