A team of surgeons at New York City-based NYU Langone Health has performed the world's first total eye transplant, according to a Nov. 9 report from NBC New York.
Transplants of the cornea have previously been common to treat certain types of vision loss, but transplanting the entire eye is a new revolution in curing blindness.
It is too soon to tell whether the patient, Aaron James, will ever be able to see through his new, transplanted eye, according to the report. The team noted that he is recovering well and the donated eye looks healthy.
Researchers are also analyzing Mr. James' brain to understand the optic nerve connection. The hurdle lies in regrowing the optic nerve to connect the new eyeball to the brain.
The operation took 21 hours in total. Mr. James still cannot open the eye, but reported feeling some sensation in the area.