An observational study in Corneal Transplantation, Corneal Diseases and Corneal Donation, sponsored by Groupe Hospitalier Diaconesses Croix Saint-Simon. Recruiting at 1 site in France. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-10-09.
Sponsored by Groupe Hospitalier Diaconesses Croix Saint-Simon · Observational
Today, there is a shortage of tissues such as corneas for a variety of reasons. However, it is possible to harvest tissues from people who are usually excluded from donation, particularly cancer diagnosed, by recruiting them into palliative care units.
Corneal transplantation is a surgical procedure designed to improve the vision of many persons. A number of diseases now require corneal transplants, such as keratoconus.
As with other organs, the shortage of donors remains a major obstacle to the use of this technique, a shortage which became much more acute during the health crisis linked to the pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. In 2022, 10615 participants were waiting for a transplant, but only 46.3% of them received one.
Cornea removal differs from the removal of other organs. Firstly, there are fewer contra-indications. It can be performed on persons with chronic conditions that would usually exclude them from receiving other organs, such as cancer. As the cornea is not vascularised, the risk of damage is considered to be zero, except in cases of cancers of cerebral neurological origin or melanoma.
Secondly, the donor's remains can be preserved for up to 24 hours after death. This makes it possible to recruit care services that are not usually involved in organ transplants, as these services provide new potential donor recruitment resources. This includes palliative care units.
There is currently no French literature on corneal donation specifically in palliative care units. There is a lack of data on the factors that encourage or hinder donation.
Based on our experience of corneal donation in our palliative care unit since 2020, the investigators are conducting a clinical study to evaluate the factors that facilitate or impede corneal donation in our hospital palliative care unit.
136 studies on the registry are indexed under Corneal Diseases; 44 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 150 is above the median of 112 across 48 observational studies indexed under Corneal Diseases.
Browse Corneal Diseases studies →Groupe Hospitalier Diaconesses Croix Saint-Simon is the lead sponsor of 27 studies on the registry; 12 are open to participants now.
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The source population concerned by this study corresponds to the relatives of the deceased person who has been treated in the palliative care unit, limited to 3 relatives.
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Biographical, Care Experience, and Organ donation attitude characteristics as assessed by structured questionnaires.
Data collected include biographical and social characteristics of the relative, perceived quality of care in the palliative care unit, experience of being approached regarding corneal donation, and attitudes toward organ and tissue donation.
Time frame: Enrolment visit and/or month 3
Relatives' perceptions of Cornea Donation Requests following death in the Palliative Care Unit assessed by semi-structured interview.
Time frame: Enrolment visit and/or month 3
Perceptions of Corneal donation following death in a Palliative Care Unit assessed by structured questionnaire.
Perceptions and experiences related to corneal donation when death occurs in a palliative care unit, including factors facilitating or hindering consent to donation, assessed through a structured questionnaire administered to relatives of deceased patients.
Time frame: Enrolment visit and/or month 3
Questionnaire-Based characteristics of relatives opposed and not opposed to Corneal Donation.
Comparison of demographic characteristics, care experience, and attitudes toward organ and tissue donation between relatives opposed and not opposed to corneal donation, assessed by a structured questionnaire.
Time frame: Month 39
Plan to share: Undecided
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Groupe Hospitalier Diaconesses Croix Saint-Simon