EyeWorld Asia-Pacific March 2013 Issue

48 EWAP CORNEA March 2013 currently have a shortage of donor corneas, there could be numerous benefits if the study shows that the longer storage time is just as effective as the shorter storage time. First, there’s an expected increase in demand for corneal tissue as the U.S. population ages, Dr. Lass said. “If we can show preservation time doesn’t make a difference, we could double the supply that people would be willing to use,” he said. In addition, the donor pool is at a greater risk from emerging infections like the West Nile virus, and the eye banks need more time to screen donors because of the concerns about infections surrounding drug addiction, including hepatitis B. This kind of research will provide actual evidence regarding best practices for corneal preservation timing and usage, Dr. Lass said. “We want to have an evidence- based approach to deal with perceptions surrounding the donor cornea and provide greater flexibility for eye banks in placing tissue,” he explained. George Rosenwasser, MD , Central Pennsylvania Eye Institute, Hershey, Pa., USA, whose practice is participating in the trial, is eager to see if the results provide proof that the longer preservation time is just as clinically acceptable as the shorter preservation time. He routinely has used tissue that has been preserved for 10 to 11 days and has found no difference in outcomes or quality compared with tissue preserved for a shorter time. Currently, the U.S. has the most organized eye banking process in the world and often shares its excess supply around the world, said Kevin Ross , president and CEO, Midwest Eye-Banks, Ann Arbor, Mich., USA. There were about 46,000 corneal transplants performed in the U.S. in 2011, according to Eye Bank Association of America statistics, Mr. Ross said. However, there were 67,590 donor tissues available in 2011. The tissue that are not used—for 2011, that was a little over 30%—are typically shipped overseas. Although the U.S. does not have a shortage of donor tissue, there’s a “tremendous shortage” elsewhere, Mr. Ross said. “There are about 100,000 to 150,000 corneal grafts in the world each year,” Mr. Ross said. “The number needed is closer to a million.” The CPTS results may help close that gap. “We could provide a major benefit for the restoration of sight in many places, first and foremost in the U.S. This could also give us the opportunity to support corneal surgery programs around the world,” Mr. Ross said, noting that many U.S. eye banks are involved with supporting cornea surgery programs globally. That said, if the U.S. has an increasing need for donor tissue, the study results could help meet the demand in the U.S., Dr. Lass said. The results will affect eye banks’ policies and procedures that guide for how long donor tissue can be used, Mr. Ross added. They also will likely affect tissue criteria selection worldwide, he said. The study is actively recruiting patients between the ages of 30 and <91. Patients at participating centers with either Fuchs’ dystrophy or Expanding - from page 47 pseudophakic bullous keratopathy undergoing Descemet’s stripping endothelial keratoplasty (DSEK) must be available for follow-ups at one day, one week, one month, and six months, and one, two, and three years. The study’s website is cpts. jaeb.org. EWAP Editors’ note: The physicians have no financial interests related to this article. Contact information Lass : 216-844-8590, Jonathan.Lass@uhhospitals.org Rosenwasser : 717-533-5200, gr@cpeye.com Ross : 734-780-218, kwross@midwesteyebanks.org