The influence of donor age and post mortem time on corneal graft survival and thickness when employing banked donor material (A five-year follow-up).

Sixty-three consecutive corneal transplantations employing banked donor material were grouped according to donor age and post mortem time, respectively, and followed at regular controls for 5 years. Twenty-six cases (38% belonging to a risk group i.e. had earlier had corneal transplantation(s) and/or vascularized corneas) with a mean donor age of 55.8 years were compared with 37 cases (35% at risk) with a mean donor age of 75.7 years. The five-year graft survival was 72.0% in the first group and 86.3% in the second group, however, the difference was statistically insignificant. In 27 cases (26% at risk) with a mean post mortem time of 17.4 h a five-year graft survival of 81.0% was found compared with 80.3% for 36 cases (44% at risk) with a mean post mortem time of 40.5 hours. No difference in graft thickness was demonstrated between any of the groups, and in all cases with surviving grafts normal values for corneal thickness were achieved. It is concluded that neither donor age nor post mortem time are limiting factors when selecting donor material for organ culture and corneal grafting.