April 22, 2025

Donor stem cells help restore sight

A pioneering stem cell treatment at the Centre for Sight in the UK is helping to restore sight to people blinded by chemical accidents or firecrackers. According to the Guardian, Dr Sheraz Daya has treated more than 20 people by growing stem cells, mainly from deceased donors, and transplanting them to the eye. Normally his patients’ problem is the absence or severe shortage of limbal cells, which protect the eye and keep the surface of the cornea clean. Dr Daya believes that stem cell transplants trigger the production of new limbal cells which arrive as stem cells through the blood stream.