As a live tissue, a cornea donated by a deceased donor is used as a transplant with a surgical procedure– also known as keratoplasty – that replaces a diseased or damaged entire cornea (full-thickness transplant) or only the damaged layers (partial-thickness transplant) with a healthy cornea to restore vision or relieve eye pain.
Eye banks are responsible for retrieving these tissues, processing and preserving them in controlled environments, assessing their medical suitability, and delivering them to centers in need. The cause of the donor’s death is thoroughly investigated, and various tests are conducted to screen for diseases such as AIDS, hepatitis, and syphilis. Since the cornea is avascular, blood type matching is not required. Ideally, the corneal tissue should be collected within the first 12 hours after death.
Corneal transparency can deteriorate due to disease or trauma, leading to vision loss. Conditions that may necessitate a transplant include:
Keratoconus: Thinning and bulging of the cornea
Corneal infections
Traumatic injuries
Chemical burns
Hereditary corneal dystrophies
Non-healing corneal edema after surgery (especially post-cataract surgery)
We import live corneas from certified, prestigious tissue banks emphasizing the use of only the highest-quality tissues and advanced processing techniques. The tissue banks with which we have exclusive distributorship agreements are all accredited by the Eye Bank Association of America (EBAA). We are happy to provide the most suitable corneas based on the needs of your transplant center.
Corneal transplants can be performed using different techniques depending on the affected layer of the cornea. The most used methods today include:
Penetrating Keratoplasty (PK)
Endothelial Keratoplasty (EK)
DSEK (Descemet Stripping Endothelial Keratoplasty)
DMEK (Descemet Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty)
Anterior Lamellar Keratoplasty (ALK)
Superficial Anterior Lamellar Keratoplasty (SALK)
Deep Anterior Lamellar Keratoplasty (DALK)
