Years after leukemia robbed her of her eyesight, an unnamed Lebanese woman can now see again – thanks to a Beirut-based medical team led by Harvard graduate Dr. Elias Jarade . The team performed a groundbreaking operation, the first of its kind in the world.
The procedure is considered a trailblazer in ophthalmology and is expected to give way to development in the science of stem cells and curing blindness.
According to Sky News Arabia, the woman, who is in her thirties, had previously received a bone marrow transplant from her brother. Her immune system's response to the foreign body damaged the surface of her eyes, making her legally blind.
After extensive research, the medical team decided to transplant stem cells from her brother's eyes into her own, along with stem cells taken from the placenta of a newborn.
Not only has such a procedure never been applied before, but the idea itself innovative.
"We didn't find anyone else who wrote about it (the procedure) or used it for this reason. We consider it somewhat unique and proactive," one of the specialists told Sky News. He added that they hope this would create new opportunities for people who have lost their eyesight.