Biotechnology is rapidly transforming the medical world and is completely changing the world of health. From prosthetic limbs, artificial pacemakers to artificial heart pump machines, science has always had many surprises. This time, an israeli startup carried out a successful corneal transplant surgery using synthetic cornea making it the first in the world to do so.
The procedure which was done at Rabin Medical centre was approved and entered clinical trials in July 2019. The real work has therefore been to find volunteers willing to take part in a clinical trial never done before. See, donor corneas are the ones that have always been in use, but they were very scarce. Statistics show that 30 million people are reported blind each year. Yet with this high number, there have only 1 cornea donor available for every 70 people who need it.
A 78 year old man, who lost his sight to edema 10 years ago was fortunate to be enrolled into this program and became the first human on earth to have a synthetic corneal transplant and regain sight.
“witnessing a fellow human being regain his sight the following day was electrifying and emotionally moving,” said Dr. Litvin
The synthetic cornea has been named KPro and can be used to replace opaque and deformed cornea. This artificial non-biodegradable nano-tissue is placed just on the sclera, under the conjuctiva and on the surface of the eyelid. The discovery is a milestone to the medical world and is random controlled clinical trials are now set to be done in several other countries.
Awesome