US Edition3D-printed cornea restores sight in a legally blind patient for the first time
The implant PB-001, created by Precise Bio, can yield up to 300 grafts from one donor cornea and aims to reduce transplant wait times worldwide, company said.
- On Oct. 29, Rambam Eye Institute in Haifa, Israel performed a transplant using PB-001, a corneal implant grown from cultured human corneal cells, restoring sight to a legally blind patient.
- Precise Bio says a single donated cornea can yield roughly 300 implants, while one donor cornea currently serves an estimated 70 patients, aiming to reduce long wait times.
- The grafts are shipped cryopreserved, delivered preloaded on standard devices, and unroll during implantation; this 3D printing method was developed at Newcastle University in 2018 and refined by Precise Bio with clinicians.
- PB-001 is currently being tested in a single‑arm phase 1 trial in Israel enrolling 10 to 15 participants, with Precise Bio planning to report six‑month outcomes in the second half of 2026.
- If validated through trials, the technique could be commercialized in the coming years, and Precise Bio says the platform could print cardiac, liver and kidney tissue after extensive regulatory steps.
10 Articles
10 Articles
First Human Cornea Transplant Using 3D Printed, Lab-Grown Tissue Restores Sight in a ‘Game Changer’ for Millions Who are Blind
The first successful human implant of a 3D-printed cornea made from human eye cells cultured in a laboratory has restored a patient’s sight. The North Carolina-based company that developed the cornea described the procedure as a ‘world first’—and a major milestone toward its goal of alleviating the lack of available donor tissue and long wait-times […] The post First Human Cornea Transplant Using 3D Printed, Lab-Grown Tissue Restores Sight in a …
The Rambam Ophthalmological Institute in Haifa, Israel, announced the first successful surgery in the world in which a 3D-printed cornea returned vision to a blind patient, an advance considered historic in regenerative medicine. They worked in collaboration with the company Precise Bio, specialized in regenerative technology and biomanufactured tissues. This procedure, completed at the end of October, consisted of a corneal implant developed en…
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