While there seems to be an adequate supply of corneas (the transparent
covering at the front of the eye) for transplantation, there is some concern that there
may be a future shortage. With this in mind, researchers set out to see if there was
an age limit beyond which corneas should not be accepted from older donors.
Generally speaking, when it comes to most types of implants, younger tissue is
preferable to older. However, researchers found that corneas from donors as old
as 75 years can perform just as well as younger tissue. While other factors have a
bearing on the selection of corneas for transplantation, this new study shows that
age is not necessarily a limiting factor.
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