Meeting summaries:
16 May 2012
The group met via teleconference to discuss the publication and promotion of the completed ocular nomenclature. Next steps include:
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publishing the nomenclature in the Standard Terminology document;
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having the nomenclature published in a peer reviewed journal;
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promoting the nomenclature at future international congresses;
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and working on a guidance document on coding and labeling.
14 June 2011
The group met via teleconference to review comments received during the consultation period. A large number of comments were received. The group addressed the comments and agreed to the following next steps:
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Following the EBAA meeting, a modified list of terminology and definitions will be sent to EBTAG participants.
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The next draft of terminology will be prepared and circulated to the executive committees of the organizations represented on EBTAG and to the individuals who had responded to the first public consultation document.
14 December 2010
The group met via teleconference and finalized the ocular tissue nomenclature.
The next steps include:
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Sharing the agreed terminology with executive committees of organizations represented by ETTAG members for comment.
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Amending where necessary the terminology as a result of the comments.
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Sending the updated terminology out for public comment.
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Reconvening the group via teleconference after the public comment period ends.
24 August 2010
The group welcomed new members Donald Tan from Singapore, Usha Gopinathan from India, and Jennifer Dematteo from the United States.
They discussed:
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the use of the terms "normothermic" vs. "organ culture" and decided to use the former,
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potential use attributes such as For Surgical Use Only and For Research and Education Only, and
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attributes for HLA and ABO matched.
08 July 2010
The group further refined definitions discussed in previous meetings. They agreed to add:
- Precut Posterior Cornea Layer
- Precut Anterior Cornea Layer
- Laser Shaped Cornea
They agreed the term "Cornea" would not be needed after adding these three terms.
The group discussed the need to encode HLA or ABO types and the utility of the Dimensions Data Structure to convey specific information about scleral rim size and endothelial cell density.
18 May 2010
The group met by teleconference and reviewed terminology discussed in the previous conference call.
Other categories needed to define ocular tissue include: (1) How the tissue has been stored, (2) Potential use of the tissue, (3) Width of the sclera rim, and (4) Matched tissue (HLA).
The group defined storage methods including organ culture, hypothermia, cryopreservation, freeze drying, glycerol, ethanol and moist chamber.
The group recognized a need for representation from Asia and will try to identify a person who would be willing to participate in its discussions.
19 April 2010
The group met by teleconference and drafted definitions for the following terms:
- Corneroscleral disc
- Whole Eye
- Sclera
- Cornea
- Limbal Tissue
Cornea subdivision terminology was also discussed.
The group agreed that the focus would be to standardize terminology for transplantable tissue, but this did not exclude standardizing terminology for other tissues.
10 March 2010
This was the first meeting of the Eye Bank Technical Advisory Group. The group discussed expectations and agreed goals. The first task will be to determine if any other groups are working on standardized terminology for ocular tissues and ensure communication among groups working on terminology.
