Updated safety precautions and guidance on eye banking procedures during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic

Armenti, Stephen T; Ballouz, Dena; Mian, Shahzad I

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a highly infectious coronavirus causing the COVID-19 pandemic. Although airborne spread through infectious respiratory droplets is the primary source of transmission, recent literature has suggested the ocular surface may be able to harbor viral particles. Here, we aim to discuss how SARS-CoV-2 affects the ocular surface and updated guidance on how SARS-CoV-2 transmission should be considered in the setting of eye banking and corneal transplantation procedures. RECENT FINDINGS: SARS-CoV-2 RNA can be found on the ocular surface, which may suggest the eye as a site of viral replication. However, there is poor correlation between PCR positivity on the ocular surface and ocular symptoms. To date, although viral particles can be found on the ocular surface, use of standard antiseptic procedures during corneal tissue procurement appears to sufficiently reduce viral load. In addition, preprocedure testing may further decrease the chances of transplanting an infected cornea without significantly impacting the overall accessibility to corneal tissue by decreasing the donor pool. SUMMARY: Corneal transplantation remains a well tolerated and highly successful procedure with no evidence of viral transmission with transplantation. Although the ocular surface has the required receptors to allow for viral replication, there is no clear evidence that the eye is a site for primary viral infection.