Eye Care Professionals' Perspectives on Eye Donation and an Eye Donation Registry for Research: A Single-Institution, Cross-Sectional Study.
A centralized eye donation registry for research could help to bridge the gap between patients interested in donating their eyes to science and scientists who conduct research on human eye tissue. Previous research has demonstrated patient and family support for such a registry. In this study, we assessed the views that eye care professionals have toward an eye donation registry for research.



Surveys were distributed to all 46 clinical faculty members of the Duke University Eye Center. In addition to collecting demographic information, the surveys assessed clinicians' experience with discussing eye donation with patients, described the proposed eye donation registry for research and asked how the registry would affect the clinicians' practice.



A total of 21 eye care professionals returned the survey. Thirty-three percent reported discussing eye donation with patients, and 43% reported that a patient has asked about donating their eyes for research on their disease. Eighty-six percent of eye care professionals reported that a centralized registry would improve the way they work with patients who express a desire to donate their eyes for research.



The majority of eye care professionals at our academic institution indicated that an eye donation registry for research would improve how they work with patients who are interested in donating their eyes for research on their disease. Future research should examine how best to communicate this registry to ophthalmic patients.
a Michigan State University College of Human Medicine , Grand Rapids , MI , USA .
Andrew M
AM
Williams
b Department of Ophthalmology , Duke University Medical Center , Durham , NC , USA , and.
R Rand
RR
Allingham
b Department of Ophthalmology , Duke University Medical Center , Durham , NC , USA , and.
W Daniel
WD
Stamer
b Department of Ophthalmology , Duke University Medical Center , Durham , NC , USA , and.|c Durham VA Medical Center, Health Services Research and Development , Durham , NC , USA.
Kelly W
KW
Muir
D000328:Adult; D035843:Biomedical Research; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009885:Ophthalmology / Q000379:methods*; D012042:Registries; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014019:Tissue Donors; D009927:Tissue and Organ Procurement
Eye banks; eye care professionals; eye donation; organ donation registry