title: [Influence of the donor age on graft survival : Is the demographic change also important for corneal tissue donation?]
abstract: The success of corneal transplantation highly depends on the quality of the used graft. Various factors play a crucial role such as a perfect stroma without optically relevant, centrally located cloudiness or changes (e. g. scars) or an adherent Descemet membrane. One of the most important parameters is the quality of the endothelial cell layer with a sufficiently large endothelial cell count. An open question is so far whether the donor age affects corneal quality and therefore has an impact on the success of transplantation. A comprehensive review of the available literature revealed that a large amount of scientific data on the influence of donor age exist to answer this question. In a variety of studies, no significant dependence of graft quality of donor age could be detected. Rather the studies prove that graft survival depends primarily on the state of the endothelial cell layer, and postoperative endothelial cell loss must be considered as a major cause of graft failure. Extensive quality assurance procedures in tissue preparation and cornea processing in the eye banks in Germany (Europe) ensures that only corneas with tested high quality are allocated for transplantation regardless of the donor age. Against the background of an aging population, the use of grafts from older donors should not be waived.
authors: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gewebetransplantation, gGmbH, Feodor-Lynen-Str. 21, 30625, Hannover, Deutschland. nicola.hofmann@gewebenetzwerk.de.
authors: N
authors: N
authors: Hofmann
authors: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gewebetransplantation, gGmbH, Feodor-Lynen-Str. 21, 30625, Hannover, Deutschland.
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Derks
authors: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gewebetransplantation, gGmbH, Feodor-Lynen-Str. 21, 30625, Hannover, Deutschland.
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Börgel
authors: Klinik für Augenheilkunde, Klinikum Chemnitz gGmbH, Chemnitz, Deutschland.
authors: K
authors: K
authors: Engelmann
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D016039:Corneal Transplantation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005125:Eye Banks / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006084:Graft Rejection / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D006085:Graft Survival; D006801:Humans; D019520:Living Donors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009927:Tissue and Organ Procurement / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
keywords: Demographic change; Donor age; Endothelial cell density (ECD); Tissue donation; Transplant survival