Surgeons in New York have successfully performed the first-ever whole-eye transplant in a human. The surgery was a part of a partial face transplant and although the patient has not regained sight in the eye, the grafted eye has shown signs of health, including well-functioning blood vessels and a promising retina. Previously, doctors were only able to transplant the cornea, the clear front layer of the eye. The patient, a military veteran who had lost the left side of his face, knew he might not regain vision in the transplanted eye but hoped that the procedure would provide insights for future developments in vision restoration.
The surgical team harvested adult stem cells from the donor’s bone marrow and injected them into the optic nerve during the transplant to encourage healing and protect the nerve. While the transplanted eye is not currently communicating with the brain through the optic nerve, the transplantation of a viable eye globe opens up numerous possibilities for future research and development. Other teams are working on methods to connect nerve networks in the brain to sightless eyes, such as inserting electrodes to allow vision. The success of the whole-eye transplant represents a significant step forward in the field, even if the patient does not regain sight in this case.
