What is the cornea?
The cornea is a clear tissue made of collagen that covers the front of the eye. Along with the crystalline lens , it is responsible for the accurate bending of light rays onto the retina which gives us a clear image.
What is a Corneal Graft?
Corneas that are cloudy due to disease, trauma, or genetic distortion ( keratoconus ) may benefit with grafting. This is done by removing the damaged cornea and replacing it with a healthy one. During the transplant the defective cornea is replaced by an identical piece of the same size from a donor and held in place by sutures. These sutures are painless and almost invisible.
It is one of the most common and successful transplants done and modern techniques are improving all the time. Grafts can be full thickness to correct conditions such as keratoconus or Deep Lamellar (partial - DSAEK graft ) to treat the back surface only which is defective. This partial graft helps patients with cloudy corneas who suffer from Bullous Keratopathy.
Where does the donor material come from?
The Lions NSW Eye Bank in Sydney, is the provider of donor material. They are responsible for collection, testing, storage, preparation and distribution of over 400 grafts each year.