What people ask about eye donation.

The clear, dome-shaped outer layer at the front of the eye. Light passes through it on the way to the retina.

When the cornea becomes cloudy or scarred, light can no longer pass through it to the retina, and vision fails.

Eye injuries, infections, malnutrition, chemical burns, birth defects and complications of eye surgery.

In the United States, eye banks report that more than 95% of corneal transplants succeed. Success is lower for corneas scarred by infection, which is common in India, and each patient’s surgeon explains their own chances.

Eye Bank Association of America; Dandona et al., British Journal of Ophthalmology, 1997.

No. Only the clear cornea is transplanted, not the whole eye, so the recipient’s eye color does not change.

The surgeon replaces a disc of cornea about 7.5 to 8 millimeters wide with donor tissue, held by fine nylon stitches, often sixteen. The operation usually takes one to two hours, and vision improves over the months the eye takes to heal.

The eyes should be recovered within six hours of death. In storage fluid, a cornea stays usable for about 4 to 14 days, depending on the fluid.

No. Eye donation does not change how the donor looks, and funeral plans, including a viewing, can go ahead as scheduled.

People of any age can donate, including those who wear glasses, have had cataract surgery, or have diabetes, high blood pressure or asthma. The eye bank makes the final decision after death.

Donation is ruled out by HIV, hepatitis B or C, rabies, sepsis, acute leukemia, tetanus, cholera, meningitis or encephalitis.