COVID-19 Found in The Cornea: Are Transplants a Transmission Risk?

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A multi-institutional study finds that COVID-19 can be found in post-mortem corneal tissue, highlighting the importance of the donor screening process.

December 10, 2020

Cornea Corneal Conditions Infectious Disease

Clinical Research

Grantee

COVID-19 has been found in conjunctival swabs and tears of infected patients, according to a new study published in The Ocular Surface.

The discovery prompted a research team including Shahzad Mian, M.D., an ophthalmologist at Kellogg Eye Center, to analyze the prevalence of COVID-19 in human post-mortem ocular tissues. The results: the virus can infiltrate corneal tissue, the clear, outer layer of the eye, that could be used for transplantation in the U.S., raising concerns that the disease could be transmitted to a healthy recipient.