On November 9, local time, NYU Langone Health announced the successful completion of the world's first full eye transplant (with partial facial tissue transplant).

The success of the world's first human total eye transplant is a major breakthrough in the field of face transplantation. While it is uncertain whether normal vision will be restored, the patient's transplanted left eye has shown significant signs of recovery, such as normal blood flow to the retina. This breakthrough will open up new possibilities for future advances in vision therapy and related medical fields.
The "Adventure" of Total Eye Transplantation
Currently, corneal transplants are the only way to restore sight to patients blinded by keratoconus, and corneal transplants have been largely normalized.

Although it is possible to replace "parts" of the eye, restoring sight through a whole eye transplant remains a huge challenge due to the precision and complexity of this organ, as well as the obstacles of nerve regeneration, immune rejection, and retinal blood supply.

The human eye is connected to the brain through the optic nerve, which is part of the central nervous system responsible for transmitting visual information to the brain. How to successfully re-establish the nerve connection between the eye and the brain is a key requirement for restoring vision after transplantation and one of the biggest challenges of transplantation.

As early as April 1969, a U.S. ophthalmologist, Dr. Conard Moore, claimed to have performed the world's first human total eye transplant, but the transplanted eye was unable to develop a blood supply after the operation and the operation failed.
Eye in good condition after transplant
The patient, James, lost his left arm in an accident, suffered severe facial damage (including the entire missing nose, lips and left cheek area) and had his left eye removed. During the removal process, however, the doctors and his team cut the optic nerve as close to the eye as possible to preserve more nerve length and increase the hope of a transplant.

To better help the patient regain function in the transplanted eye, the medical team devised additional protocols:

Stem cells from the donor's bone marrow source were injected into the optic nerve during the transplant procedure; the transplanted stem cells can be used as a replacement therapy and natural repair tool, dividing continuously to create healthy cells to replace damaged or dysfunctional ones.

Prior to surgery, the team extracted and isolated CD34+ stem cells from the donor's bone marrow and injected them into the recipient's anastomosed optic nerve during surgery. This is the first attempt to inject stem cells into a human optic nerve during transplantation with a view to promoting nerve regeneration.

The surgery lasted about 21 hours.

After the surgery, James spent 17 days in the intensive care unit and was discharged home shortly after being transferred to the general ward with daily use of anti-rejection medication. After outpatient rehabilitation, he regained his sense of taste and smell and was able to chew solid food.

And in the eye review, it was found that although the patient had no vision in his left eye, his eyeballs and intraocular pressure were normal and there were no signs of rejection. The state of the eye five months after surgery has far exceeded expectations," said the medical team. We initially envisioned the transplanted eye surviving for at least 90 days."