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Cornea Donor Study: Donor age inconsequential in PK for endothelial disease
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BOSTON — Ten-year results of the Cornea Donor Study indicate that donor age is not an important factor in most penetrating keratoplasties for endothelial disease, a speaker said here.
With 1,090 patients evaluated and 105 surgeons, 80 sites and 43 eye banks involved, this study has been “a tremendous collaborative effort by the eye banking community,” Edward J. Holland, MD, said at Cornea Day preceding the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery annual meeting.
The primary objective of the study was to determine whether success of PK performed for corneal disease associated with endothelial dysfunction is related to donor age.
Edward J. Holland
Median age of patients was 72 years, and most patients had Fuchs' dystrophy or pseudophakic or aphakic corneal edema. Donors were between age 10 years and 75 years, divided into those age 65 years and younger and those age 66 years and older.
No significant difference was found in 10-year success rates comparing donor ages 12 years to 65 years and 66 years to 75 years; however, there was a suggestion of a donor age effect at the extremes of the age range, with higher success rate when corneas were from donors 12 years to 33 years and lower success rates when donors were aged 72 years to 75 years.
“We saw a fairly constant 10-year success rate for donors in that 34- to 71-year group, which accounts for more than 75% of all our donors [in the U.S.],” Holland said.
Disclosure: Holland has no relevant financial disclosures.