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What
is a corneal transplant?
A transplant is the replacement of damaged or diseased tissues
or organs with healthy tissues or organs. In a corneal transplant,
the cloudy or warped cornea is replaced with a healthy cornea.
If the new cornea heals without problems, there may be tremendous
improvement in vision.
The healthy corneal tissue used for transplantation is supplied
by an Eye Bank. Eye Banks work round the clock to collect,
evaluate, and store donated corneas. The corneas are collected
from human donors within hours of death. Stringent tests are
done to ensure the safety of the person receiving the cornea.
The Eye Bank verifies the donor’s medical history and cause
of death, and performs blood tests to ensure that the deceased
person did not have any contagious disease, such as AIDS or
hepatitis.
Since the cornea was one of the first parts of the body to
be transplanted, corneal transplants remain one of the most
common, and most successful, of all transplants.
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