The frequency of patients at risk for Creutzfeld-Jakob disease among potential corneal donors

Background. The prevalence of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is 1.5 cases per million persons. In addition to familial and sporadic forms, fewer than 5% of cases are due to iatrogenic transmission. Corneal transplantation ha s clearly been implicated as the origin of UD in four cases. Materials and methods. We examined possible risks factors for corneal trans plantation in material from 2545 deceased patients at the University Hospit al of Halle. Results. Two patients had died of CJD or slow virus disease. Also in the 10 9 identified as being at higher risk of UD no organs or tissues were harves ted. Conclusion. We strongly recommend that patients at higher risk group of UD, patients dying of CNS diseases of unknown origin and cause, and patients d ying in psychiatric clinics be excluded from donating organ and tissue.