Corneal grafting and banking

Abstract

Corneal transplantation was conceptualized at the end of the 18th century, but it took more than 100 years before human corneal grafting was introduced. The greatest step forward was the demonstration by Filatov that corneal tissue can be collected and used post mortem. The history of eye banking includes the development of preservation techniques. Storage in cold to minimize microbial growth and tissue disintegration was first choice but during the last 30 years this has been taken over by warm storage (organ culture) where the donor cornea proves its sterility and vitality before being transferred to the recipient. The long-term organ culture storage makes exchange between centres possible and allows for histocompatibility matching. The internationalization led to the establishing of the European Eye Bank Association but also to an increasing number of governmental regulations. Developments in years to come may lead to control of graft biomechanics and optics. This technical development tends to favour a centralization.