What Is an Eye Donor?
Corneal donation refers to donation after death, but relevant procedures must be done before death. Donors must be voluntary during their lifetime or agreed by the family behind them, with respect to voluntary principles. It is better to be 5 to 60 years old, and it can be relaxed to 70 years old. If it is used for medical research, it is not restricted by age and disease. Donation of cornea or eyeball is free. The world today is donating free of charge.
Corneal donation
Corneal donation overview
- Corneal transplantation is suitable for corneal turbidity or edema caused by various reasons, which seriously affects vision: such as corneal turbidity caused by recurrent viral keratitis, patients who have not completely relapsed within six months after complete cure, may consider transplantation Corneal; corneal opacity patients who have been burned with acid and alkali chemicals can perform corneal transplantation after one year of healing; corneal ulcers have a large range and deep invasion, which can not be cured for a long time. Failure of drug treatment has the risk of perforation or encroachment to the center. Patients with corneal ulcer should immediately undergo corneal transplantation; patients with congenital corneal degeneration, keratoconus, corneal stroma degeneration, corneal endothelial cell decompensation, etc., should also undergo corneal transplantation immediately; patients with corneal tumors, corneal fistula, and corneal edema Corneal transplantation may be considered; for patients with leukoplakia who have been blind, corneal transplantation surgery may also be considered in order to improve the appearance.
- Classification Corneal transplant materials can be divided into living donations and cadaver donations according to their source. The so-called living donation, as the name suggests, is a living person, who is blind (no light) due to trauma, optic nerve disease, intracranial disease, etc., but the cornea is an intact eyeball, which are all suitable donors. The Ophthalmology Center of Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital successfully completed two live corneal transplants in March and December 2006, one of which was the nation's first blind living donor corneal donation. However, the vast majority of domestic corneal transplantation materials are still derived from fresh corpses (donors). Generally, those who are between the ages of 6 and 60 and have healthy cornea are suitable, especially those who die from acute disease or trauma, among which 18- 35 years old is best; infants less than six months old and older than 90 years old are not suitable for donation because of poor corneal function. Under normal circumstances, it is valuable to remove within 6 hours after death, and within 12 hours after death in winter. Corneal epithelium is intact, the stroma is transparent, and the thickness is constant (no edema). It is better to use fresh corneal material with preservation solution or Special treatment at deep and low temperature can keep it for several days or weeks. However, the cornea of these donors cannot be used for transplantation: 1. Certain infectious diseases such as AIDS, syphilis, rabies, tetanus, leprosy, diphtheria, viral hepatitis, encephalitis, polio, etc .; 2. Malignant tumors have Eye tissue infringers and leukemia, Hodgkin's disease, etc .; 3. Certain eye diseases such as anterior segment malignant tumors, retinoblastoma, viral keratitis, corneal degeneration or scars, glaucoma, iris ciliary inflammation, Purulent endophthalmitis and those who have undergone internal eye surgery.
Corneal Donation Transplantation
- Corneal transplant surgery is divided into two categories
- That is, penetrating corneal transplantation and lamellar corneal transplantation. 1. Penetrating corneal transplantation is a method in which a full-thickness transparent cornea is used instead of a full-thickness cornea. A ring-shaped drill with a certain diameter is used to remove the full-thickness corneal lesions. The cornea sheet is sewn tightly on the recipient cornea as a 10-0 nylon thread. Indications can be divided into optical, therapeutic, forming, and cosmetic aspects according to the purpose of the operation. Optical corneal transplantation: refers to corneal transplantation performed for optical purposes (transparency of the cornea). Common indications are keratoconus, corneal scars caused by various reasons, corneal malnutrition, and various reasons. Corneal Endothelial Cell Failure. Therapeutic corneal transplantation: used to treat corneal diseases, control infections, shorten the course of treatment, and save the eye. The main indications are purulent corneal ulcers, chemical injuries, erosive corneal ulcers, and corneal edge degeneration. Formable corneal transplantation: Corneal transplantation for the purpose of restoring the tissue structure of the cornea, such as corneal degeneration and perforated corneal lesions. Cosmetic corneal transplantation: mainly used to improve the appearance of the cornea. Suitable for patients with leukoplakia who have been blind. 2. Lamellar corneal transplantation is a partial-thickness corneal transplantation, which only removes the superficial corneal tissue with lesions. The deeper intact recipient cornea is still retained as the transplant bed, and then the donor corneal layer of the same size and thickness is taken. The corneal sheet is sewn on the wound surface of the recipient cornea. Lamellar corneal transplantation does not penetrate the anterior chamber and belongs to extraocular surgery. Generally, it does not disturb the eye tissues and has fewer complications. Therefore, lamellar corneal transplantation can be performed where corneal lesions do not invade the deep cornea, and those whose endothelial physiological function is healthy or recoverable. It is often used clinically for middle and superficial corneal plaque or corneal dystrophy, and progressive keratitis or ulcer, corneal fistula, and corneal tumor.
- Corneal transplantation is only a part of corneal transplantation. Postoperative management and self-care also play an important role in the success of corneal transplantation. The patient can be discharged from the hospital about 1 to 2 weeks after the corneal transplantation. Because the immune rejection problem of the corneal transplantation is the main cause of postoperative failure, the patient should continue to be treated with medication after discharge. Generally, it takes three months to apply topical corticosteroid eye drops or cyclosporin A after surgery; systemic application of immunosuppressive drugs such as glucocorticoids takes one month, and some patients with poor corneal conditions take longer. Due to the many side effects of these drugs, the time, method and dosage of the drugs must be strictly implemented according to the doctor's orders, and can not be added and subtracted at will, and the drug must not be stopped at will to prevent adverse reactions such as hormone rebound. Patients should be revisited on time, especially once a week at the early stage of discharge; if the condition is not special, once a month after a month, after the corneal suture is removed, a review will be performed every three months. The sutures of penetrating corneal transplantation are generally from June to December after surgery; lamellar corneal transplantation is usually from March to June after surgery, but the specific time will be determined by the doctor during the review.
Corneal donation related issues
- Living people cannot donate cornea
- Volunteer Club Corneal Donation
- How do people who donate cornea donate?
- Corneal donation refers to donation after death, but relevant procedures must be done before death.
- What are the requirements for people who donate cornea?
- Donors must be voluntary during their lifetime or agreed by the family behind them, with respect to voluntary principles. The age is preferably 6 to 60 years. If used for medical research, it is not limited by age and disease.
- Where is the cornea of a person who donates it?
- The cornea is limited by many conditions, such as death certificate, presence of infectious disease, and time of death, so it is unlikely to be taken at home.