Chronological Factors of the Process of Donation and Classification of Corneal Tissue.

INTRODUCTION: The quality of corneal tissue is influenced by several factors inherent to the recipient, donor, donation process, and transplantation that may primarily or secondarily interfere in the survival of a corneal graft.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to identify the factors inherent to the donation process, specifically related to the harvesting and processing of tissue and to the donor, that may interfere with the quality of corneal tissue.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a cross-sectional, descriptive, and analytical study carried out from January to April 2015 at the Onofre Lopes University Hospital, Natal/RN, Brazil. A survey of the keratoplasties performed between the years 2010 and 2014 was carried out, totaling 258 donated corneas.

RESULTS: The mean age of donors was 42.08 years, ranging from 2-80 years. As for quality, 64.45% of the corneas were classified as good, 23.05% as regular, 11.33% as poor, and 1.17% as excellent. The mean time between death and preservation was approximately 7 hours and 15 minutes, and the mean time elapsed until use was 10 days after immersion in preservation medium.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Factors inherent in the donation process that may interfere with the quality of the corneal graft correspond to factors of a chronological nature: donor age and time elapsed between death and preservation of the graft.