A National Consensus Forum on improving cornea donation and transplantation access in Canada

A consensus meeting was held in Toronto on February 9–10, 2020 to discuss ways to improve cornea donation and transplantation access in Canada. The meeting brought together eye and tissue bank representatives, health authority and hospital leadership, transplant ophthalmologists, organ donation organizations, transplant recipients, donor families and several national organizations. Through facilitated discussions in multidisciplinary, gender-balanced, and geographically balanced small groups, participants identified opportunities for improvement in the Canadian cornea donation and transplantation system. Discussion occurred around broad themes of donor tissue demand, supply, access, utilization, interprovincial sharing and cost recovery, interprovincial knowledge sharing and research. This event marked the first time in 10 years in which the Canadian cornea transplantation community came together.

Cornea donation process and tissue quality for transplantation

Introduction The quality of the corneal tissue can be influenced by several factors inherent to the recipient, donor, and to the donation and transplantation process. The donated corneal tissue can be classified by its quality as excellent, good, regular, bad, or unacceptable for transplantation, evaluating it in a slit lamp. Objective To analyze the relationship between the clinical and sociodemographic variables of the donors and the donation process and the classification of the quality of the corneal tissue collected for transplantation. Methods This is an epidemiologic study, retrospective cohort type, which addressed the process of cornea donation by the Human Eye Tissue Bank in a reference service in Northeast Brazil. The sample consisted of corneas processed by the Human Eye Tissue Bank of Rio Grande do Norte (n = 419). For descriptive and inferential analysis, the study used the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software, version 25.0, and considered a significance level of 0.05. Logistic regression analysis was used for the adjustment of the final model. Results It was verified that the epidemiological profile showed a prevalence of individuals with a mean age of 42.54 years old, male (73.99%), and living in the metropolitan region of the state capital (75.66%). When analyzing the relationship between the clinical and sociodemographic variables of the donors, it was identified that those aged 45 years old or less had better quality corneas (excellent and good), while the chronological variables were predictive factors for corneas of regular and bad qualities. Conclusion The identification of the factors inherent to the donation process and predictors of corneal tissue quality contribute to minimizing the risk of transplantation and to a better ocular prognosis.

Interactive online survey raises awareness about cornea donation

ObjectiveTo assess the impact of a 5 min interactive online survey on raising awareness about cornea donation and willingness to become a donor.MethodsAn interactive online questionnaire was used to collect information regarding awareness, perceptions and attitudes towards cornea donation and to educate the participants about the process and value of cornea donation. Willingness to become a cornea donor was assessed at the beginning and the end of the survey.ResultsThe survey was completed by 1769 Greek residents. Willingness to become a cornea donor increased from 40.5% (n=717) at the beginning of the survey to 55.2% (n=977) by the end of it (p<0.00001). Younger participants, those whose work or studies were unrelated to the medical field, and those with the least knowledge about cornea donation and transplantation were more likely to change their views towards donation by the end of the survey (42.3%, 44.8% and 82.1% increase in willingness to donate, respectively). Major deterrents to donation were lack of information, concerns about the use of the donated corneas and corruption within the medical field.ConclusionOur 5 min online survey had a significant impact on changing the mentality towards cornea donation in Greece. We live in an online era and incorporation of online tools and applications in awareness campaigns towards cornea and organ donation has become a necessity.

Analysis of the System of Cornea Donation in the State of Paraná in the Period from 2011 To 2016

Objective: Analyze the cornea donation in the State of Paraná-Brazil. Methods: This was an evaluative and cross-sectional study. The data sources were medical records of potential donors with death due to brain death and cardiorespiratory arrest that occurred in Paraná between January of 2011 and December of 2016 whose were analyzed in the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0. Absolute and relative frequencies and median and interquartile ranges were calculated in the descriptive statistical analysis. Odds ratios were used with a respective confidence interval of 95% to assess associations between variables. The Wald test was used to determine differences considering p<0.05. Results: Among 7,622 eligible donors identified in the analyzed period, 6,624 (86.9%) were cornea donors, of which, 3,685 were effectively transplanted. The chances of effective cornea donations were higher among men who died from brain death occurring in the Eastern Macroregional of the state. A significant drop in the number of donations was observed over the years within the studied period. Conclusions: The results of this study demonstrate that, although Paraná has shown a decline in corneal donations in the last five years, the state could overcome barriers and increase donation rates, reduce waiting times, and meet the patient awaiting the transplant with quality care as the result of awareness of the society, improvement in public policies, and professional qualification in the health area and in all involved in the process.