Aaron James becomes the first person to receive eyeball transplant

​A team of surgeons in New York have performed the world's first transplant of an entire eye in a procedure widely hailed as a medical breakthrough. (image source: AP)

The groundbreaking surgery involved removing part of the face and the whole left eye of a donor and grafting them onto Aaron James. (Image source: AFP)

​

The extensive facial injuries prompted surgeons at NYU Langone Health to pursue a full eye transplant, aiming to enhance the overall cosmetic outcome by providing support to the transplanted eye socket and lid. (Image source: AP)

​According to the surgical team at NYU Langone Health, in the six months since the surgery, performed during a partial face transplant, the grafted eye has shown important signs of health, including well-functioning blood vessels and a promising-looking retina. .(Image source: Reuters)

Transplanting an entire eye has long been a holy grail of medical science, and though researchers have had some success in mice, where they have restored partial vision, it's never before been performed in a living person. (Image source: Reuters)

​

​Aaron James, 46, a line worker from Arkansas suffered extensive injuries including the loss of his left eye, his dominant left arm above the elbow, his nose and lips, front teeth, left cheek area and chin when his face touched a live wire in June 2021. (Image source: AP)

James pushed through physical therapy until he was strong enough to escort his daughter Allie to a high school homecoming ceremony, wearing a face mask and eye patch. Still he required breathing and feeding tubes, and longed to smell, taste and eat solid food again. (Image source: AP)