Air transportation of corneal tissue: experience with local compared to transatlantic donor corneas.

Purpose: To compare the outcome of corneas obtained at the same hospital in which they were transplanted (group 1) to that of corneas obtained in the United States and grafted in Israel (group 2).

Methods: One hundred twenty-six patients undergoing corneal grafting in Israel during the years 1995 to 1998 were included in a retrospective, nonrandomized clinical trial. Group 1 included 31 procedures, and group 2 included 95.