Serological testing of donor cornea under Hospital corneal retrieval programme

Volume : VII, Issue : VI, June - 2018

Dr. G. Balaji, Dr. S. Abirami

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the serological profile of the eye donors and to study the influence of various

factors on serological test results. Methods: A cross–sectional, observational study was conducted, and data of 509 donors were

reviewed from the records of eye bank from April 2016 to November 2017. Various details of donors analyzed included the age,

sex of the donor, cause of death, source of tissue, time since blood collection after death, macroscopic appearance of blood

sample, and details of discarded tissues. Serological examination of blood was performed for human immunodeficiency virus

(HIV), hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus (HCV), venereal disease research laboratory (VDRL), and serology reports reactive or

nonreactive were analyzed. Results: Among the 509 donors, 295 (58%) were male, and 420 (82.50%) belonged to age group

≥60 years. Most donors (354, 69.5%) died due to cardiac arrest. Macroscopically, sera were normal in the majority of 488

(95.9%) cases. Among 509 donors, 475 (93.3%) were nonreactive, 12 (2.4%) donors were found to be reactive to hepatitis B

surface antigen (HBsAg), and 1 (0.2%) was reactive to HCV, but no donor serology was reactive to HIV or VDRL. Twenty–one

(4.12%) donors‘ sera were not fit for serological testing. Among all donors, 475 (93.32%) donors were accepted and 34 (6.67%)

were rejected or discarded on the basis of serological testing. Cause of death and macroscopic aspect of sera influenced the

serological results in a highly significant manner (P = 0.00). Acceptance or rejection of the donor was significantly influenced by

the serological results of the donor (P = 0.00). Conclusion: The seroprevalence among eye donor for HBsAg and HCV was 12

(2.4%) and 1 (0.2%), respectively. Factors such as cause of death and macroscopic aspect of sera influence the serological results.

Time since blood collection or sampling will not show any impact on viral serological results if postmortem sampling will be done

in < 10 hours(h) after death which can improve the safety and utility of the donor cornea.