Rates of eye donation amongst multi-organ donors over a decade (2013-2022) in new Zealand/Aotearoa

To ascertain rates of eye donation amongst multi-organ donors and to evaluate the potential factors that make eye donation more likely. Data were collected from all multi-organ donors facilitated by Organ Donation New Zealand (ODNZ) from January 2013 to December 2022. Gender, age, ethnicity and cause of death were collected. This was cross-referenced with all eye donors accepted by the New Zealand National Eye Bank (NZNEB) over the same period. Predictors of positive eye donation were examined with a multivariate logistic regression model. There were 638 multi-organ donors of which 54.9% were male and 77.3% were New Zealand European. Amongst these 40.4% (n = 258) were also eye donors. Amongst the eye donors, 149 were male (57.8%), 210 NZ European (81.4%), 22 Māori (8.5%), 12 Asian (4.7%), 9 Middle Eastern, Latin American, African (3.5%), 4 Pasifika (1.6%) and 1 unknown (0.4%). On logistic regression, older age was found to be associated with an increased likelihood of eye donation (OR 1.021 p < 0.001). Asian ethnicity (OR 0.483, p = 0.048) was associated with a reduced likelihood of eye donation compared to NZ Europeans. There was no statistically significant increased likelihood of eye donation by gender. This is the first study in New Zealand / Aotearoa to quantify the relationship between eye donors and multi-organ donors. 59.6% of multi-organ donors do not donate their eyes. Addressing the underlying reasons for this could help eliminate New Zealand's reliance on imported ocular tissue.