Lab-grown corneas could ease global shortage of transplant tissue
Canadian researchers have developed bioengineered cornea implants that regenerate tissue without relying on human donors, addressing a critical supply bottleneck in eye care. As populations age and donor tissue becomes scarcer, these cell-free implants—already tested in European clinical trials—offer a scalable alternative that could reshape the ophthalmology market and expand access to sight-restoring surgery worldwide.
Originaltitel: Cornea Regeneration as an Alternative to Human Donor Transplantation
<p>There is a need for an alternative to human donor corneas as the availability of good-quality tissues remains limited, with this situation potentially worsening as the population in many countries is progressively ageing. There have been numerous attempts to develop corneal equivalent as alternatives to donated human corneas as well as prostheses. In this short review, we focus on the efforts in bioengineering implants that promote regeneration by Canadian researchers, including our current team of authors. The examples of technologies developed that we describe include biomaterials that allow for partial regeneration of corneal tissue, self-assembled cornea constructs and cell-free corneal implants that promoted regeneration when evaluated in clinical trials in Europe.</p>