In clinical trials at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, surgeons restored eye sight for six patients who lost their sight after chemical accidents and genetic diseases. The patients went under successful stem-cell transplant. They said.

Dr Julie Daniels who is leading the research and her team grew tissue cells that were taken from donors using stem cell before they transplant them in to patient’s eyes.

She said: “Before the surgery the patients were barely able to recognize when someone was waving a hand in front of their face but we have restored their vision to the point they can read three to four lines down the eye chart.”
The treatment is known as limbal stem cell therapy, and the patients who received the treatment suffered from chemical burn or genetic disease know as aniridia.

They had injuries to the limbal cells in their eyes, which are under the eye lid and maintain the transparent layer on the outside of the cornea.
Dr Daniels said: “Their cornea becomes opaque, blood vessels grow across it and their eyes become inflamed and they can’t see anymore. It is very painful.
“By replacing the limbal stem cells, the cornea begins to clear up as the cells are replaced with the healthy transparent layer again.
“We can’t restore sight completely yet as the material we are growing the stem cells on is slightly opaque, but patients are certainly reporting an improvement.”
Researchers are hoping also to use stem-cell to treat other blindness diseases by creating small patches of retina cells, which detect light at the back of the eye.