A new study shows a promising procedure to treat severe injuries in one eye by using stem cells from the other.
Phil Durst, who has undergone an experimental stem cell procedure with his eyes, sits for a portrait in Homewood, Ala., on Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023. His left eye bore the brunt of a 2017 work accident, which stole his vision, left him unable to tolerate light and triggered four to five cluster headaches a day.
“I went from completely blind with debilitating headaches and pondering if I could go another day — like really thinking I can’t do this anymore" to seeing well enough to drive and emerging from dark places literally and figuratively, he said, choking up. Dr. Ula Jurkunas, an ophthalmologist at Mass Eye and Ear in Boston who was the principal investigator for the study, said the experimental technique involves taking a small biopsy of stem cells from the healthy eye, then expanding and growing them on a graft in a lab at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.
Both of Durst’s eyes were hurt in the accident, which happened while the former chemical company manager was visiting a client having problems with the dishwashing machine. For six to eight months, his overall vision was so bad his wife or son had to lead him around. But his right eye was less injured than his left and could provide stem cells for the transplant.
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