Epidemiology of corneal transplantation before achieving the Zero Queue

Objective: To outline the epidemiological profile of cornea donors and recipients before reaching queue zero.Methods: Epidemiological study, of quantitative approach, with transversal, analytical design, analyzing database records from the Health Secretary of the State of Ceará, from 2013 to 2015. Results:We obtained 1,558 cornea donors and 2,287 cornea recipients from 2013 to 2015.Most donors were male, capital residents, from 21 to 40 years old.Of donated eyeballs, 14.52% were disposed, due to poor condition, infiltration or positive serology.The recipients were predominantly women over 60 years old.The procedures were mostly elective, due to bullous keratopathy (28%).Regarding emergency transplants, ulcer (38.51%) and retransplant (35.14%) were most prevalent.Predominantly, transplants were funded by the Unified Health System. Conclusion:The majority of patients who were submitted to corneal transplantation are senile, especially females, therefore should be cautiously observed.On the other hand, donors are mainly male and young, reflecting the high number of tragic accidents.The surgery for bullous keratopathy is the most frequent among elective transplants, while the ulcer surgery is the main cause of emergency procedures.The fact that most surgeries were financed by the Unified Health System reflects the importance of this system.