US surgeons perform world’s first whole eye transplant
- In the groundbreaking operation, part of the donor’s face and whole left eye were removed and grafted onto electric shock survivor Aaron James, 46
- This is the first time the procedure has been performed on a living person, though it is not yet clear if the recipient will be able to see through his new eye
A team of surgeons in New York has performed the world’s first transplant of an entire eye in a procedure widely hailed as a medical breakthrough, although it is not yet known whether the man will ever see through the donated eye.
The groundbreaking surgery involved removing part of the face and the whole left eye – including its blood supply and optic nerve – of a donor and grafting them onto a lineworker from Arkansas who survived a 7,200-volt electric shock in June 2021.
Aaron James, 46, suffered extensive injuries including the loss of his left eye, his dominant left arm above the elbow, his nose and lips, front teeth, left cheek area and chin.
He was referred to NYU Langone Health, a leading medical centre for facial transplants, which carried out the procedure on May 27.
Transplanting an entire eye has long been a holy grail of medical science, and though researchers have had some success in animals – where they have restored partial vision – it has never before been performed in a living person.