New Approaches in TransplantationOrgan donationDemographic Characteristics of Voluntary Donors Registered in Beijing Tongren Hospital Eye Bank of China: A Retrospective Study From 2007 to 2016

- Demographics of voluntary eye donors from general-population adults in Beijing show certain characteristics.
- Middle-aged women with higher educational levels who were engaged in office work showed more willingness to donate.
- A promotion campaign aiming at general populations with specific demographics might increase donation rates.

BackgroundLack of willingness to pledge eyes among the general population is the main cause for the shortage of cornea tissue in China. A few studies have implied that general-population adults with specific demographics showed more willingness to donate their eyes.MethodsIn this study, we analyzed the demographic characteristics of 918 voluntary donors registered in Beijing Tongren Hospital Eye Bank in the past 10 years for possible predictors that might help us to identify potential donors in Beijing and increase the donation rate. All copies of voluntary eye donation application forms filled by the registrants from 2007 to 2016 were collected. Basic demographics listed in the application form were extracted for analysis. Demographics were described as proportions and compared by means of a χ2 test. Besides that, donor counts and proportions of combining 2 demographics from the 4 main demographics were described and compared.ResultsVoluntary donors greater than 50 years of age (n = 477, 53.0%) predominated the proportions. Regarding education level and occupation, donors with tertiary education (n = 484, 57.4%) were more numerous than donors with primary and secondary education (n = 355, 42.1%); office clerks, workers, and government officers were more willing to pledge eyes than were donors engaged in other occupations. In addition, donors of the Han race (n = 856, 94.9%) made up the majority and mainly were distributed in 5 central administrative districts of Beijing (n = 629, 77.5%).ConclusionsThe present study suggests that older women (>50 years of age), living in a central district, with higher education level and engaged in white-collar work, were possible predictors for potential donors.