Older corneas found suitable for transplantation

Dr. Ronald Gaster, UC Irvine professor of ophthalmology, participated in a national study showing that older corneas are as suitable for transplant as younger ones. Researchers found the transplant success rate for recipients was the same – 86 percent – for transplants performed with corneas from donors ages 12 to 65 years as for those from donors ages 66 to 75. More than 33,000 corneal transplants are performed each year; the study suggests the pool of corneas for transplants could expand significantly to include donors up to age 75.