Years ago they used to talk about donating your eyes for the blind; can they really do eye transplants?

Question:

I thought if you took out the eye, it would cut the optic nerve and nerves don't repair themselves. I have heard about cornea transplants, but they used to talk about donating eyes and I have read about someone that received eyes from someone else. Do they really do eye transplants?

Answers:
Cornea transplants have been successful for over 100 years, but they are not able to transplant the whole eye, no. Nerve connections aren't able to be reconnected.

Whole-eye donations usually go for research, although they can use the sclera (white part) in bladder surgeries (yes, bladder).

The cornea is just the clear outer layer of the eye - the donation is about the size of a contact lense.

Other Answers:
not the whole eye.
just parts of it.

They have heart transplants. I guess eye transplants could work.

I don't think so, but today everything is possible

They do not actually do eye transplants, but they can do retina and corneal transplants, which are pieces of the eye, and those can really help a blind person. The best part is, nearly everyone can donate that part of themselves, from terminal premature infants to 105 year old grandparents.

mainly just the main part of the eye (irus or pupil). when someone has damaged theirs.

I'll look into it.

I think they just transplant the cornea. Not the whole eye. I f they do transplant the whole eye I think it would be for cosmetic reasons not for use.

You're correct; they can't use a donated eye so someone can see again. (Yet.) Corneal transplants are the most common use of donated eyes.

i don't think they have gotten to were they can do a full eye translate for it take a lot of nerve endings to make someone that's blind to give full vision

Corneal transplants are possible for someone who had a severely damaged cornea - think the fusarium fungal infection contact lens wearers were getting a few months back.
Retinal transplants are not yet possible - noone has figured out how to connect the photoreceptors (rods and cones) to the optic nerve to send the signal to the brain so that you can actually see.
But I'm sure there are plenty of doctors and researchers working on this!

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Years ago they used to talk about donating your eyes for the blind; can they really do eye transplants?

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