Headline

US Surgeons Perform World’s First Whole Eye Transplant

Published

2 years ago

November 9, 2023

A team of surgeons in New York announced Thursday they had performed the world’s first transplant of an entire eye in a procedure widely hailed as a medical breakthrough, although it isn’t yet known whether the recipient will actually regain his sight.

The groundbreaking surgery involved removing part of the face and the whole left eye of a donor and grafting them onto a line worker from Arkansas who survived a 7,200-volt electric shock in June 2021, when his face touched a live wire.

Aaron James, 46, 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.

He was referred to NYU Langone Health, a leading medical center for facial transplants, which carried out the procedure on May 27.

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.

“We always talk about a second chance at life — he’s been given a second chance,” said Eduardo Rodriguez, who led the 21-hour-surgery that made use of 3D cutting guides, which allowed surgeons to remove segments of bone from the donor and place them precisely in James.

“We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect patient,” he added, praising James for undergoing the extremely risky surgery so that others in his situation could benefit in the future.

The transplanted left eye appears very healthy, said retinal opthamologist Vaidehi Dedania. It has a good blood supply, is maintaining its pressure, and is generating an electrical signal, though James is not yet able to see. “But we have a lot of hope,” she added.

– ‘Huge deal’ –

“This is a huge deal,” Kia Washington, a professor of surgery at University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, who has been working in the same field for 15 years, told AFP, commending her peers.

Daniel Pelaez of the University of Miami’s Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, who has also been working towards the same goal, told AFP: “The transplantation of a human eye at NYU Langone represents a pivotal moment in our common quest to restore sight and offers hope to countless individuals around the world.”

James, whose right eye remains intact, was considered an ideal candidate because his need for a facial transplant meant he would require immunosuppressive drugs regardless, making the risk-benefit calculation favorable — even if it conferred only cosmetic value.

Appearing at a press conference, James expressed his profound gratitude to both the donor’s family and his medical team. “It’s been a test of willpower, strength, family, friends, and I think we beat it,” he said.

James returned to his native Arkansas in September to be with his wife and daughter but returns to New York for monthly follow-up appointments.

– Optic nerve regeneration –

Given the time that has passed since the surgery, Washington said she did not think it likely that James’s eye would regain vision, but “I never say something is impossible,” she added.

The NYU Langone team said they had used bone marrow-derived adult stem cells to promote nerve repair.

Achieving the goal of sight restoration could involve bringing other cutting-edge approaches to bear, said Washington — including gene therapy to tap the optic nerve’s intrinsic ability to heal; using a device called a nerve wrap to protect the tissue; or using devices that pick up signals and bypass the damaged pathway.

“We’re making great progress in the treatments to promote optic nerve regeneration that could accompany eye transplant,” Jeffrey Goldberg, who is leading similar efforts at the Byers Eye Institute at Stanford University, told AFP.

“These adjunctive therapies will allow the donor eye to significantly connect to the brain and restore meaningful visual function to blind patients everywhere.”

AFP

Headline

‘They Checked My Instagram’ – Nigerian Lady Breaks Down After Landing In U.S, Denied Entry

Published

21 hours ago

June 29, 2025

Editor

A Nigerian businesswoman has taken to social media to share her frustration and heartbreak after being denied entry into the United States, despite holding a valid visa.

In a video recorded on her return flight to Nigeria, the visibly distraught woman revealed that she was travelling to Texas for a trade fair.

She said she possessed a B1/B2 visa, which allows travel for both tourism and business meetings.

However, upon arrival in the U.S., things took a turn.

“I was denied entrance into the US and that is because my visa [is] a B1–B2 visa which is [for] tourism/business meetings,” she explained tearfully.

“When I landed, I was detained for 24 hours and I was questioned. I told them I was going to exhibit but I did not know any better because the US has your data and your Instagram page.”

According to her, immigration officials scrutinised her social media activity and private messages, using them to challenge her stated purpose of visit.

“Apparently, my Instagram says different. They even checked all my messages with my customers. The customers I have been telling that we are coming, they can pick up and all of that,” she said through tears.

Headline

Uganda: After 39 Years In Power, 80-year-old Yoweri Museveni To Seek Re-election

Published

1 day ago

June 29, 2025

Editor

Ugandan President, Yoweri Museveni, has announced his intention to run in the country’s next presidential election, extending a rule that began nearly four decades ago.

In a post on the X platform late Saturday, Museveni said he had “expressed my interest in running for… the position of presidential flag bearer,” for his ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party.

The 80-year-old leader has governed Uganda since 1986 after seizing power following a five-year guerrilla war. Under his leadership, the ruling NRM has twice amended the constitution, allowing him to remain in office beyond term and age limits.

According to Reuters, right groups have long accused Museveni of deploying security forces and leveraging patronage to hold onto power, an allegation he denies.

Explaining his decision to seek reelection, Museveni said he aims to grow Uganda’s economy to a ”$500 billion economy in the next five years.” According to the finance ministry, the country’s GDP currently stands at about $66 billion.

Uganda is set to hold presidential and parliamentary elections in January next year. Museveni’s main challenger is expected to be opposition figure and pop star-turned-politician Bobi Wine, who came second in the 2021 election and has declared his intention to contest again in 2026.

Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, rejected the 2021 results, alleging his victory had been stolen through “ballot stuffing, intimidation by security forces and other irregularities.”

Headline

‘Netanyahu Must Go’, Israel’s Ex-PM Calls Leadership ‘Catastrophic’

Published

1 day ago

June 29, 2025

Editor

Naftali Bennett, Israel’s former Prime Minister, stated in a televised interview that current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must leave office.

Bennett refrained from saying whether he plans to challenge the longest-serving leader in the country in an upcoming election.

In an interview with Israel’s Channel 12 that aired on Saturday, Bennett commented, “Netanyahu has been in power for 20 years… that’s too much; it’s not healthy.”

He called attention to Netanyahu’s “heavy responsibility for the divisions in Israeli society,” highlighting the growing rifts that have emerged under Netanyahu’s leadership, especially regarding his handling of the Gaza war since October 2023.

Bennett, a right-wing leader who joined forces with Netanyahu’s critics to form a coalition that ousted him from office after 12 consecutive years, insisted that “Netanyahu must go.”

However, the fragile coalition government Bennett led, along with current opposition leader Yair Lapid, collapsed after about a year. This led to snap elections, resulting in Netanyahu regaining the premiership with support from far-right and ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties.

Although Bennett has taken time away from politics, there are rumors of a potential comeback, with public opinion polls indicating he may have enough support to defeat Netanyahu again. Currently, no elections are scheduled before late 2026, but early elections are common in Israel.

In his Saturday interview, Bennett claimed credit for laying the groundwork for Israel’s bombardment campaign earlier this month against Iranian nuclear and military sites.

The decision to launch attacks against the Islamic Republic “was very good” and “needed,” said Bennett, claiming that the offensive would not have been possible without the work of his short-lived government.

In Gaza, where Israel has waged war since Hamas’s October 2023 attack, Bennett said the military has displayed “exceptional” performance, but “the political management of the country” was “a catastrophe, a disaster”.

Criticising the Netanyahu government’s “inability to decide,” the former prime minister called for an immediate “comprehensive” agreement that would see all remaining hostages freed from Gaza.

“Leave the task of eliminating Hamas to a future government,” said Bennett, who also evaded several questions about whether he intends to run for office.

AFP