Background: Corneal transplantation success depends on good practices in tissue selection and preservation. This study aimed to assess the relationship between the time from the donor's death to the end of processing and corneal cellularity provided by the Eye Bank.
Methods: This was a retrospective study of 839 donor records (2013-2021) from the Eye Bank of the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics, totaling 1445 corneas. Donors were classified based on cellularity (≤2000 and >2000 cells/mm2) and laterality. The dependent variable was cellularity in the right eye (RE) and left eye (LE), categorized into ≤2000 and >2000 cells/mm2 groups. Independent variables included sex, age, cause of death, and Δ-death. The statistical software SPSS 26.0 (IBM SPSS, Inc, Armonk, NY, United States) was used, and P < 0.05 was considered significant.
Results: Among 839 donors, most were male (58.2%) and ≥60 years old (36.5%). Brain death (BD) was the primary cause of death (66.2%). A time from the donor's death to the end of processing interval of ≥10 hours occurred in 35.6% of cases. Cellularity >2000 cells/mm2 was similar for the RE (94.5%) and LE (93.9%). Age showed statistical significance (P < 0.001) in both eyes, with cellularity decreasing for donors ≥60 years. In BD cases, higher cellularity was observed in the LE (P < 0.001; 70.8%). A time from the donor's death to the end of processing interval and cellularity comparison showed relevance for the LE (P = 0.03) but no association for the RE.
Conclusions: Corneal cellularity decreased with increasing donor age. Significant differences in Δ-death were associated with cellularity, BD, and right and left cornea.
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