Floating device for donor corneas in organ culture.

Abstract

To introduce a new floating device for donor corneas to avoid accumulation of debris onto the endothelial surface during organ culture and to facilitate handling of the tissue during preservation and surgery. From 11 donors, one randomly chosen cornea was stored in organ culture attached to a floating device, while the contralateral cornea was attached to the lid of the phial by a suture ("hanging by suture"). Endothelial cell density (ECD) was evaluated prior to tissue storage and after 2-3 weeks of culture. Furthermore, we compared ECD in a larger group of corneas sent off for transplantation with the device (n = 281) to a historical group of control corneas "hanging by suture" (n = 444). There was no significant difference in ECD between corneas attached to the floating device or "hanging by suture" (n = 11; p > or = 0.1). Similarly, no different ECDs were observed between corneas sent off for transplantation with the device (n = 281) and the historical group of control corneas "hanging by suture" (n = 444) (p > or = 0.1). The use of the floating device may not affect tissue quality. Since its introduction, the use of the device has been uneventful and greatly facilitated tissue handling.