Pigs give us a hand – and a cornea 👀

Have you ever imagined that pigs could heal a person's eyesight? Even though they can’t be eye doctors, they can still give a hand – or a cornea. Researchers and entrepreneurs in Sweden have developed a cornea implant made of collagen protein from the skin of pigs. It has been used to restore the sight of 20 people with diseased corneas, most of whom were blind prior to receiving the implant.

• It is hoped that the results can help those suffering from corneal blindness and low vision by providing a bioengineered implant as an alternative to the transplantation of donated human corneas, which are hard to come by.
• The implants can be mass-produced and stored for up to two years.

According to the researcher, the focus was on ensuring that the invention will be widely available and affordable worldwide for all, and not just to the wealthy.

• The researchers used collagen molecules derived from pig skin that were highly purified and produced, using rigorous procedures, for human use. The fact that skin is a byproduct of the food industry makes it easy to access and economically advantageous. 
• The researchers have also developed a new, minimally invasive method for treating keratoconus, which can lead to blindness: the patient's own tissue doesn’t need to be removed, but an implant is inserted into the existing cornea through an incision made via laser.

A larger clinical study followed by market approval from regulatory authorities is needed before the implant can be used in healthcare, and the researchers also want to study whether the technology can also be used to treat other eye diseases.