Clinical Study Efficacy and Safety of Corneal Transplantation Using Corneas from Foreign Donors versus Domestic Donors:

which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Purpose. To assess the efficacy and safety of corneal transplantation using corneas from foreign donors.Methods. One hundred and eight patients needing therapeutic penetrating keratoplasty were randomly divided into 2 groups (54 cases/group): foreign group using foreign donor corneas and domestic group using domestic donor corneas. Clinical outcome and incidence of postoperative complications were compared between groups. Results. No significant difference with respect to the therapeutic outcome and postoperative Best Corrected Visual Acuity (BCVA) and neovascularization by final follow-up was observed between the two groups.Thegraft thickness in the foreign groupwas statistically higher than the domestic group at 1month postoperatively, but not at 3, 6, and 12months postoperatively. Corneal endothelial cell density in the domestic groupwas statistically higher than in the foreign group at 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively. Corneal epithelial abnormalities in the foreign group were significantly higher than that in domestic group.The primary graft failure, incidence of graft survival, and postoperative complications such as immunologic rejection, graft infection, and secondary glaucoma were not significantly different between the two groups. Conclusions. Cornea