This is a new technique. This novel procedure relies on obtaining healthy corneal stem cells from a donor eye to transplant into the diseased eye. The corneal stem cells continually produce new corneal cells, repairing injured cells or replacing old ones. Researchers from Taiwan and the United States have both based their work on the stem cell concept, and on using amniotic membranes to anchor the stem cells to the eye. The membrane is a natural tissue that surrounds babies while in their mothers' wombs.
Women usually donate their amniotic tissue after they have given labor.
In the Taiwanese study, investigators from the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and the University of Taoyuan restored vision loss in six patients by collecting the healthy stem cells and seeding them directly into the amniotic membrane. The American study, however, took on a slightly different approach. Researchers at the University of California Davis School of Medicine and Medical Center collected the healthy stem cells and grew them in laboratory dishes first, before applying them to the amniotic membrane. The team at UC Davis managed to restore eyesight to 10 of 14 patients. Dr. Ivan Schwab, one of the American researchers and professor of ophthalmology at UC Davis, says one advantage to first growing stem cells in lab dishes has to do with transplant failure.