People who have liver transplants have double the risk of acquiring a largely incurable cause of blindness in the elderly.
Researchers found almost two-thirds of liver transplant patients had some form of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and suggest regular eye checks for all liver transplant recipients.
The unexpected figure is double the level of AMD in the general population.
A team led by Professor Andrew Lotery at Southampton General Hospital studied 223 patients over 55 who had had new livers for more than five years.
Scientists already knew a mutation which causes a gene to produce abnormal proteins in the liver is more common in AMD sufferers, possibly causing eye inflammation.
The researchers wanted to know if receiving a new liver without the fault affected the development of AMD.
They found AMD was associated with the CFH gene mutation in the recipients' original liver, and getting a liver with or without it had no effect on development of the disease.
Mr Lotery said: "We now know much more attention should be paid to the eye health of liver transplant patients."
He said knowing AMD is related to a recipient rather than the donor liver meant present efforts to treat AMD may be wasted.
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