Effect of donor and host factors on corneal graft transparency

Objective: To study the correlation between donor factors and recipients' factors on graft clarity.Materials and methods: The study comprised 30 cases of Keratoplasty surgery with a follow up of6 months. All donor corneas were evaluated by Konan specular microscope for endothelial cellcount; details of the donor like age, cause of death were noted. The patients were divided into twogroups, Group 1 had graft failure, and Group 2 had clear corneas. Observation and Result: Therewere 12 patients in group 1 and 18 patients in group 2 with six months of follow up. The meanendothelial cell count in group 1 was 1942.3/mm2, and group 2 was 2334.8/mm2. There is asignificant difference in the mean endothelial cell count between the two groups. On analysing theindication for Keratoplasty in two groups, the outcome was best for the corneal opacity group duringworst for the graft failure group. Conclusion: Donor endothelial cell count significantly influencedgraft outcome; rest donor factors (age, death enucleation interval, enucleation surgery interval)don't affect graft survival. Indication for Keratoplasty is a significant predictor of graft survival.