Eye Bank - Recovery of Eye Tissue

Recovery of Eye Tissue

"Recovery" refers to the retrieval of organs or tissues from a deceased organ donor. Recovery is currently the preferred term, although "harvesting" and "procurement" have been used in the past, they are considered inappropriate, harsh, and potentially inaccurate.

When an organ/tissue donor dies, consent for donation is obtained either from a donor registry or from the donor's next of kin. A recovery technician is then dispatched to the hospital, funeral home, or medical examiner's office to recover the donor's eyes. The recovery occurs within hours of the death of the donor. The entire eye, called the globe, may be surgically removed (enucleated), or only the cornea may be excised in-situ and placed in storage media. There is a wide variety of storage media used in eye banking. Commercial preparations as well as organ culture medium can preserve corneas. The eye tissue is then transported to the eye bank for processing.

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