THE INFLUENCE OF THE CAUSE OF DEATH ON HU MAN CORNEAL ENDOTHELIAL-CELL DENSITY

Background In most clinical centers donor material can not be obtained in necessary amounts. Therefore corneas from long-suffering donors ha ve to be accepted, too. It was the aim of this study to demonstrate th e influence of the cause of death on the endothelial cell density of f resh human corneas. Material and Methods The endothelial cell count of 81 donor corneas was determined after preparation of the corneo-scler al disc. For all donors the premortal history was evaluated concerning the cause of death and therapy. In this manner donors were divided in to five groups: sudden death, carcinoma, septicemia, renal insufficien cy and diabetes mellitus. Results There were no significant difference s in endothelial cell count between these five groups. Even chemothera py and radiatio of the donor had no influence on the cell density. Con clusion It may be concluded, that clear corneas have a sufficient endo thelial cell density and that the cause of death has no influence on t his parameter. Therefore also corneas from donors with long-standing d iseases may be accepted for transplantation.