A 27-Year Report from the Central Eye Bank of Iran

Abstract

Purpose: To report the 27-year statistical data from the Central Eye Bank of Iran (CEBI) and its activity.
 Methods: All CEBI records regarding procured eyes, tissue utilizations, corneal transplants per capita, and indications for keratoplasty from 1991 to 2017 were analyzed.
 Results: In total, 115,743 whole eyes were donated during the 27-year period. Out of the 114,169 eyes donated between 1994 and 2017, 95,314 eyes were distributed for transplantation, and 95,057 corneas were actually transplanted. The mean annual rate of corneal transplants per capita was 55.10−6 ± 27.10−6. Although penetrating keratoplasty (PKP, 70%) was the most common technique of corneal transplantation during the study period, it exhibited a decreasing trend between 2006 and 2017 (P = 0.048). It was in contrast to Descemet stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK) that demonstrated an increasing trend during the same period (P < 0.001). Keratoconus (KCN, 39.70%) was the most leading indication for keratoplasty over the last three decades followed by bullous keratopathy (BK, 18.5%), corneal scar and opacities (15.7%), and graft failure (GF, 7.5%), with an increasing trend for BK, GF, and KCN. A majority of scleral tissues (83.7%) were utilized for orbital implant protection.
 Conclusion: An increasing trend in the number of procured eyes was observed over the past 27 years in Iran. The most leading indications for corneal transplantation were KCN and BK. While PKP was the most common keratoplasty technique, DSAEK showed an increasing trend over the last 12 years.

Profile of donors and corneal tissue obtained through hospital cornea retrieval programme in a recently established eye bank of a tertiary care teaching hospital of Eastern India

“…[ 12 ] An EB in Turkey reported early data over 17 months stating a retrieval of 139 corneas from 70 donors,[ 13 ] while the Central Eye Bank of Iran managed to collect 856 corneas in its initial 2 years but did not state reasons for high procurement rate. [ 16 ] A study from New Zealand reported a collection of 206, while the Lions Eye bank of South Australia reported a collection of 198 in the first 2 years. [ 14 15 ] There is another EB and transplantation center in a public funded tertiary care institution in our city 10 km away, presently in its fifth year of establishment.…”

Preferred practice pattern and observed outcome of deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty – A survey of Indian corneal surgeons

“…[ 4 ] On the contrary, a 27-year review from the Iran's Central eye bank reported that anterior lamellar keratoplasty was the second most commonly performed keratoplasty (14.2%) after PK (70%). [ 17 ] The current survey results reported that DALK was the third most commonly performed surgery after PKP and DSAEK/DSEK in India. The high surgical rate of DALK could be because the survey included surgeons who had experience of performing > 10 DALK procedures and therefore were expected to be practicing this surgical procedure.…”

World’s Largest Eye Bank has Served a Nation for Three Decades

“…Out of the 114,169 eyes procured over a 27-year period, 95,314 were suitable and distributed. [1] Thus, providing a transplantable rate of 83.5%, which is again by far the highest amongst other eye banks. This uniqueness is attributed to (a) the knowledge and skills of technical staff in the screening of donors and (b) the eye bank policy, which in addition to contraindications requires a review of chart, medical history, and even preliminary cornea evaluation before the recovery of globe or cornea.…”

“…J Ophthalmic Vis Res 2020; 15 (2): [126][127] In this issue of JOVR, Javadi and co-authors have provided a comprehensive analysis and statistical report of the activities of the Central Eye Bank of Iran (CEBI) over a period of 27 years. [1] CEBI is globally the largest provider of transplantable cornea, recovering from one single city, Tehran, the capital, with a population of approximately nine million. During the last 10 years alone, the eye bank has distributed 61,725 corneas suitable for transplant, [1] with a mean distribution of 6,172 surgical grade corneas per year.…”

“…[1] CEBI is globally the largest provider of transplantable cornea, recovering from one single city, Tehran, the capital, with a population of approximately nine million. During the last 10 years alone, the eye bank has distributed 61,725 corneas suitable for transplant, [1] with a mean distribution of 6,172 surgical grade corneas per year. This number is by far more than the distribution of any eye bank of a major city.…”