Organ donation is an opting in system. Permission has to obtained from the next of kin, in will or on written document.
Removal of the eye as well as corneoscleral excision in situ are allowed.
Cornea banking:
The cornea and all other parts of the eye (e.g. sclera, limbus) are considered as tissues. Donation and processing of these tissues are regulated by various law and their amendments.
All eye banks need an accreditation of their local authority and of the Paul-Ehrlich-Institute which is an agency of the German Federal Mnistry of Health.
Inspections of eye banks are performed by their local authority and by the Paul-Ehrlich-Institute. Both are defining their own inspection criteria.
The Section for Tissue Transplantation and Biotechnology of the German Society of Ophthalmolgy is preparing regulations and standards for accreditation and inspection.
