The Effect of COVID-19 on Corneal Donor Volumes and Eye Bank Processes: An Analysis From the Eye Bank of Canada (Ontario Division).

Abstract

With the rise in COVID-19 cases, the Eye Bank of Canada (Ontario Division), the largest eye bank in Canada, was faced with challenges related to ocular donor suitability which resulted in tissue shortages after the first wave of COVID-19 cases in Ontario, Canada. This article aims to analyze the impact of COVID-19 on ocular tissue donation and transplant surgeries. Trends in ocular donations in 2020 and the transplant rates were compared with the data from the previous year, as a benchmark of normal eye bank activity. Ocular donor volumes decreased during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (March-June 2020) by 65% as compared to the same period in 2019. By the end of the year 2020, this had resulted in a total reduction of 29% of ocular donor volumes as compared to 2019. The ocular transplant surgery volumes in the year 2020 decreased by 32% compared to the previous year, mostly secondary to elective surgery shutdown during the first wave. Because of tissue shortages, the Eye Bank of Canada (Ontario Division) had to import 24 corneas from the United States and cancel 7 surgeries in the year 2020. The decline in ocular tissue donor volumes and transplant surgery was a result of an interplay of causes related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Most importantly, ruling out of COVID-19 carriers, lockdown measures affecting tissue retrieval processes, and shutdown of elective surgery were the 3 major factors accounting for tissue shortages and surgical volume reductions.