Twenty people who were legally blind or visually impaired received a transplant of a cornea made from pig collagen.
All of them had improved sight, including three who now have 20/20 vision after being legally blind.
The cornea made from pig collagen THOR BALKHED/LINKÖPING UNIVERSITY.
Corneas made from pig collagen have restored sight for people who were previously legally blind or visually impaired.
Two years after the operations, none of the recipients have reported serious complications or adverse side effects.
Because collagen is a structured protein that lacks individual cells, a recipient’s immune system shouldn’t reject the porcine cornea.
Esen Akpek at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland says the new cornea may not be as groundbreaking at it first seems. »