University of Colorado Anschutz Receives $46M for the First-Ever Human Eye Transplant Research

First Ever Human Eye Transplant Receives $46M Funding

The world is likely to be a research away from making human eye transplant a reality as the Anschutz Medical Campus of the University of Colorado leads the initiative with $46 million in funding.

The funds came from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) to ensure that the Total Human Eye-allotransplantation Innovation Advancement (THEIA) team, led by Dr. Kia Washington and Dr. Christene A. Huang, will focus on addressing the challenges of restoring vision to individuals who are completely blind.

According to the University of Colorado Anschutz, one of the significant efforts being made is reattaching the optic nerve, which is responsible for connecting the eye to the brain. Dr. Washington said that this was similar to a broken electrical wire; they needed to repair it so that the signals could transmit properly. The team will first use animal studies to hone their techniques in nerve regeneration, immunosuppression, and postoperative care before testing it on humans.

While this is happening, Dr. Huang's team will be studying ways to control immune responses so that transplant rejection is avoided and the new eye is accepted without complications.

Now, the groundbreaking part of the project is that the techniques developed could also help tackle other neurodegenerative conditions, such as spinal cord injuries, brain damage, and diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Advancing regenerative medicine through this research can offer a chance for broader medical applications, changing lives.

Collaborative Research Across Institutions

It is a collective effort involving the likes of Johns Hopkins University, the University of Wisconsin, and the University of Southern California, per Denver Gazette. The respective partners will contribute their expertise in this regard, ranging from making bioengineered nerve bridges to better integration of nerve cells after transplantation. Meanwhile, donor screening protocols will be overseen by Cedars Sinai Medical Center, thus guaranteeing a high standard for this procedure.

This is a step in the restoration of vision and in regenerative medicine. It is through the collaboration of ARPA-H with academic and medical collaborators that CU Anschutz is pioneering changes that could alter the ways of treatment for blindness and its related conditions worldwide.