Sometimes people with severe eye conditions or eye injuries need to undergo a corneal transplant tissue donation saves sight and also makes research into new treatments possible.
Most eye donations to the Moorfields Lions Eye Bank are used for corneal transplants but a significant amount of tissue is used for research into eye disorders and new treatments.
Donated tissue helped Moorfields carry out:
This level of activity is under serious threat as donations become scarcer and increasingly expensive to source outside the hospital’s own eye bank.
Moorfields cannot buy tissue for research purposes, which is why tissue which isn’t suitable for corneal transplant is so crucial in developing new treatments.
Treatments like the ones now being used in ocular surface diseases and limbal therapies which have been pioneered by the Cells for Sight Transplantation and Research Programme laboratory, led by Professor Julie Daniels at Moorfields and UCL, use donated tissue.
Where permanent blindness used to occur, we can now help some patients with genetic disorders, eye inflammation or chemical burns who have scarring and opacity of the cornea. The Cells for Sight programme is at the forefront of using stem cells to tackle eye diseases that were previously untreatable.
This is just one of the success stories, but the next few years could also see breakthroughs according to scientists working on projects funded by the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, based at Moorfields in treatments for:
Eye donors can also request at the time of registration that their eyes can be used for research purposes.
There are many different conditions which often require corneal transplants. A cornea is a transparent five pence sized tissue, which covers the front of the eye
If as a result of injury, infection or disease, the cornea becomes 'foggy' or clouded, vision can be impaired or in some instances deteriorate entirely meaning the corneal will need to be replaced. Transplantation involves replacing the damaged cornea with a healthy one from a donor, via an eye bank.
Some of the diseases which affect the cornea include: Keratoconus which mainly affects young people; Fuchs’ dystrophy; severe cases of bacterial infection such as acanthamoeba and glaucoma.
I had no idea that 10 sight saving operations could be performed from a pair of donated eyes. Eventually my eyes could be used to save someone’s sight or maybe they will be used for research purposes. I have let my family know what I want to do. It’s great to think I can help someone else after I have passed on. After all I won’t be needing my eyes then!
Most people up to the age of 90 can register to donate their eyes. Short sightedness or a previous cataract operation does not mean that someone cannot become an eye donor. Any donor tissue which might not be suitable for transplant can, be used for medical or research purposes, with consent from the donor.
To be able to donate, you need to register in the Organ Donor Register which can be done online.
People with cancer can donate their corneas. The cornea does not have an active blood supply and therefore is not affected by most cancers. The exceptions are Leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma.