Researchers have kept human donor eyes active outside the body for up to 10 hours after death by perfusing them with blood and oxygen. The technique preserved retinal structure for 24 hours and allowed electrical responses to light in some cases. This marks progress toward potential whole-eye transplants.
Eimear Byrne at the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology in Spain led the team that developed the Eye-in-Care-Box system. They inserted a tube into the ophthalmic artery and used sensors to regulate pressure and flow of an oxygenated solution.
In tests with eyes from six donors, the perfused eyes maintained retinal structure and cell health for 24 hours, while non-perfused eyes degraded rapidly. A further test on 36 donor eyeballs showed that 15 retinas produced electrical responses to light for up to 10 hours after death.
Thomas Johnson at Johns Hopkins University, who was not involved in the study, called maintaining light responses outside the body a tremendous feat. He noted that the work represents an important step toward whole-eye transplantation but stressed that regenerating optic nerve fibres remains a major challenge.
