Japan OKs retinal stem cell transplant

A team of doctors from the Kobe City Medical Center General Hospital will perform the world’s first transplant of retinal cells grown from a donor’s induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS).

The transplant will use certain iPS cells stockpiled by Kyoto University previously shown to have a lower rejection risk in human subjects. The researchers hope that using iPS cells from another person may also reduce costs and wait times.

The operation is expected to take place in the early half of this year.

Japanese officials previously approved a retinal transplant using a patient’s own iPS cells in a woman with wet AMD. That operation took place in September 2014.