Rocky Mountain Lions Eye Bank
A record number of people in Colorado received cornea transplants in 2006. According to the Rocky Mountain Lions Eye Bank, the increase is due in part to a new procedure known as Endothelial Keratoplasty or EK. When the critical inner cell layer of the cornea stops working, the cornea becomes cloudy and vision is seriously impaired or lost. A traditional cornea transplant replaced the entire clouded cornea. The new procedure, however, replaces only the damaged cell layer, often before the cornea becomes clouded and vision is lost. The technique allows a transplant to be done sooner.
In all, 707 people in Colorado received a form of cornea transplant in 2006. Of these, 90 people received a transplant using the new procedure. While the success rate of all types of cornea transplants is over 96%, there are significant advantages to the patient in the EK procedure:
* The eye is left much stronger and more resistant to injury
* There is minimal change in refractive error because the patient's
corneal structure remains intact
* Suture-related problems are eliminated
* Visual recovery is significantly faster and better
The procedure has advantages for the Rocky Mountain Lions Eye Bank as well. Edmund Jacobs, the eye bank's executive director, said the procedure allows more donated corneas to be used. EK allows us to use donated corneas that may not have been suitable for a whole, full-thickness cornea transplant. In many cases, these corneas would have either been destroyed or not recovered. Using this technique allows us to fulfill more donors' wishes to help another overcome blindness."
While the number of cornea transplants was up in 2006, the total number of eye donors from Colorado and Wyoming fell by 10 percent. Coloradoans can become an organ and tissue donor by visiting www.ColoradoDonorRegistry.org or by calling the registry at 1-888-256-4386.
The Rocky Mountain Lions Eye Bank was established as a nonprofit organization in 1982 to facilitate the donation and transplantation of eye tissues in Colorado and Wyoming. Its mission is to fulfill the wishes of eye donors and their families to help another overcome blindness through transplantation and medical research. More information can be found on its Web site at www.corneas.org.
Rocky Mountain Lions Eye Bank
CONTACT: Robert Austin of Rocky Mountain Lions Eye Bank, +1-720-848-3940,[email protected]
Web site: http://www.corneas.org/
http://www.ColoradoDonorRegistry.org/