Corneal Transplants

Your recent article on organ and tissue transplantation (Oct. 25) was generally informative and interesting. It is a complex area which deserves public scrutiny.

On behalf of the eye banking community, 95% of whom are members of the Eye Bank Assn. of America, one assertion about transmission of rabies via corneal transplantation is misleading. The U.S. rabies case referenced in the article occurred in 1978. The case was not unlike the surprise to medicine regarding HIV; at that time, few recognized the potential for communicable disease transmission. Since that time, eye banking standards and screening processes have been overhauled and revolutionized, voluntarily.

That type of death would now be recognized as a donor exclusion. For over a decade, there has been no transmission of disease resulting from corneal transplantation.

No system is foolproof and recognizing that, EBAA members continue due diligence and adherence to strict standards.

PATRICIA AIKEN-O’NEILL

President, Eye Bank Assn., Washington