Specific demographic factors could predict deceased potential cornea donors: A retrospective study from Beijing Tongren Hospital Eye Bank

Compared with evident cornea donors (ECDs), deceased potential cornea donors (DPCDs) have no obvious donor identifications to reference, which causes many eligible cornea tissues to be wasted. The demographic characteristics of DPCDs might be different from those of ECDs owing to the following different features: donation consent provided by relatives and willingness to donate before death. Thus, the aim of this study is to reveal the demographic characteristics of DPCDs by comparing DPCDs and ECDs. The demographic factors of 138 donors (both DPCDs and ECDs) were collected from the Beijing Tongren Hospital Eye Bank database and analyzed. To differentiate DPCDs from ECDs using the above-mentioned features, we interviewed the relatives of the donors by telephone. The relatives’ attitudes toward cornea donation and their suggestions for our donation service were also acquired during the interview. Two logistic regressions were performed to reveal the demographic factors influencing the 2 features and indicate DPCDs. The donors had certain demographic characteristics (elderly, secondary, or tertiary education level, central district resident), and the most frequent cause of death for the donors was a malignant tumor (n = 56, 43.1%). All the relatives had positive attitudes toward cornea donations, and they hoped to increase publicity efforts to encourage more people to donate and establish more convenient and efficient access for cornea donation. In univariate regressions, age (P = .004, >50 years: odds ratio [OR] = 6.89, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.82–26.05), marital status (P = .043, divorced: OR = 9.00,95% CI: 1.33–60.80) significantly influenced relative consent, whereas age (P = .001, >50 years: OR = 15.00, 95% CI: 3.00–74.98), and family address (P = .001, central district: OR = 1) were significant factors influencing the willingness to donate before death. In multivariate regression, age (P = .021, >50 years: OR = 8.14, 95% CI: 1.37–48.41) was the only significant factor influencing relative consent. Similarly, age (P = .02, >50 years: OR = 7.55, 95% CI: 1.21–47.25) was the only factor influencing willingness to donate before death. In conclusion, specific demographic factors could indicate DPCDs and might reveal directions and methods for cornea donation coordination in the future.