Corneal Transplantation
If corneal diseases severely limit the vision of the eye, or if there are diseases of the cornea that cannot be controlled in any other way, a corneal transplant can be performed. In this procedure, the patient’s cornea is removed and replaced by donor cornea. It is possible to replace the entire cornea or individual sections.
It is a cadaver donation, so the cornea is only removed after the death of the donor. As a rule, the cornea is not supplied with blood. This has several advantages in corneal transplantation.
Since the cells of the cornea do not depend on blood supply, they remain viable for days after the death of the donor and can theoretically be transplanted. In addition, the recipient’s immune system usually does not react to the foreign tissue, as it does not come into contact with it due to the lack of blood vessels.
