Determinants of next-of-kin consent in corneal donation: A retrospective study from eastern India.

PURPOSE: To identify the primary consent provider across different donor age groups and assess whether consent decisions are influenced by donors' gender and cause of death.

METHODS

Donor records were retrieved from the Drushti Daan Eye Bank at L V Prasad Eye Institute, Bhubaneswar, India. All corneal donations between January 2022 and April 2024 were analyzed. Data included demographic and circumstantial variables such as the next-of-kin (NoK) identity, donor age, gender, cause of death, and type of donation.

RESULTS

A total of 2,187 donor records were analyzed. Male NoKs had consented more than females (P < 0.0001). Fathers were the primary consent providers for donors aged 1-20 years (51.4%), brothers for 21-40 years (46.2%), and sons for 41-60 years (36.5%) and >60 years (65.3%). For male donors, brothers were the most common NoKs (35.7%), while sons were the most common for female donors (27.5%). In unnatural deaths, children and grandchildren were the leading NoKs (43.3%), while siblings provided consent in natural deaths (35.5%). Children/grandchildren provided the most voluntary consent (72.9%), while siblings were predominant among motivated donors (32.6%).

CONCLUSION

Demographic and circumstantial factors significantly influence NoK consent. Targeted awareness efforts and further research are essential to improve consent rates for eye donation.