Clinical Research Directory

Factors Influencing Corneal Donation in Palliative Care Unit

Today, there is a shortage of tissues such as corneas for a variety of reasons. However, it is possible to harvest tissues from people who are usually excluded from donation, particularly cancer diagnosed, by recruiting them into palliative care units. Corneal transplantation is a surgical procedure designed to improve the vision of many persons. A number of diseases now require corneal transplants, such as keratoconus. As with other organs, the shortage of donors remains a major obstacle to the use of this technique, a shortage which became much more acute during the health crisis linked to the pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. In 2022, 10615 participants were waiting for a transplant, but only 46.3% of them received one. Cornea removal differs from the removal of other organs. Firstly, there are fewer contra-indications. It can be performed on persons with chronic conditions that would usually exclude them from receiving other organs, such as cancer. As the cornea is not vascularised, the risk of damage is considered to be zero, except in cases of cancers of cerebral neurological origin or melanoma. Secondly, the donor's remains can be preserved for up to 24 hours after death. This makes it possible to recruit care services that are not usually involved in organ transplants, as these services provide new potential donor recruitment resources. This includes palliative care units. There is currently no French literature on corneal donation specifically in palliative care units. There is a lack of data on the factors that encourage or hinder donation. Based on our experience of corneal donation in our palliative care unit since 2020, the investigators are conducting a clinical study to evaluate the factors that facilitate or impede corneal donation in our hospital palliative care unit.