Cultivated corneas may become reality. Researchers at the University of Gothenburg have been able to grow stem cells on damaged human corneas through a new unique method.
A destroyed cornea leads to blindness. The eye can repair minor damages by itself with the help of stem cells in the iris. But if there are no stem cells left, the only treatment today is organ transplantation. Every year, around 100,000 cornea transplantations take place around the world. Around 500 take place in Sweden. But the queues are long and there is a shortage of donors.
Two researchers at the Salhgrenska University Hospital, Professor Ulf Stenvi and senior lecturer Charles Hansson, have found that human embryonic stem cells can be used to regenerate the outermost transparent layer of the cornea.
The researchers will now proceed with animal experiments.
If the new method goes all the way, it could lead to that corneas could be cultivated in a laboratory, and there would be no need for donations.
