Analysis of the System of Cornea Donation in the State of Paraná in the Period from 2011 To 2016

Objective: Analyze the cornea donation in the State of Paraná-Brazil. Methods: This was an evaluative and cross-sectional study. The data sources were medical records of potential donors with death due to brain death and cardiorespiratory arrest that occurred in Paraná between January of 2011 and December of 2016 whose were analyzed in the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0. Absolute and relative frequencies and median and interquartile ranges were calculated in the descriptive statistical analysis. Odds ratios were used with a respective confidence interval of 95% to assess associations between variables. The Wald test was used to determine differences considering p<0.05. Results: Among 7,622 eligible donors identified in the analyzed period, 6,624 (86.9%) were cornea donors, of which, 3,685 were effectively transplanted. The chances of effective cornea donations were higher among men who died from brain death occurring in the Eastern Macroregional of the state. A significant drop in the number of donations was observed over the years within the studied period. Conclusions: The results of this study demonstrate that, although Paraná has shown a decline in corneal donations in the last five years, the state could overcome barriers and increase donation rates, reduce waiting times, and meet the patient awaiting the transplant with quality care as the result of awareness of the society, improvement in public policies, and professional qualification in the health area and in all involved in the process.