A Web Application for Reporting Eye Donors: Idea, Development and Doctor's Opinion

Transplant Proc. 2023 Nov;55(9):2003-2008. doi: 10.1016/j.transproceed.2023.07.025. Epub 2023 Oct 19.

Abstract

Background: Obtaining corneas in a country of 38 million, Poland, is extremely inefficient. In Poland, about 1000 corneas are transplanted annually, of which over 500 come from multi-organ donations. To our knowledge, such a low percentage of donations is in the absence of reporting of potential corneal donors. There is no computer system in our country for tissue donor reporting. The aim of the work is to present an innovative application developed for this purpose.

Material and methods: It was a cross-sectional, observational study. The questionnaires were collected from doctors who had access to the app.

Results: Almost all participants (47/52) answered that they would use this app if it was available in the hospital, 46 acknowledged that the application could encourage doctors to report tissue donors, and 48 confirmed it should be integrated with the IT system of hospitals and should be available in all of them.

Conclusion: Despite advances in medicine and technology and increased awareness of organ donation and transplantation, the gap between supply and demand is constantly growing. Due to the large number of patients awaiting corneal transplants in Poland, it is necessary to introduce changes aimed at improving this situation. The newly developed app may contribute to increasing donor reporting.

Publication types

  • Observational Study

MeSH terms

  • Corneal Transplantation*
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Humans
  • Organ Transplantation*
  • Tissue Donors
  • Tissue and Organ Procurement*