Mount Sinai doctors perform first human mitochondrial eye transplant

Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have completed a first-of-its-kind experimental procedure involving the injection of autologous mitochondria into a human eye. The patient, a 26-year-old woman suffering from blindness following a severe brain hemorrhage, had healthy mitochondria extracted from her own thigh muscle and injected into her eyes.

Under an FDA-authorized compassionate use protocol, the procedure was found to be safe and did not trigger an immune rejection or inflammation. Within 48 hours of the injection, the patient’s pupils—which had been unresponsive for 71 days—began to react to light. However, the effect was temporary; the light response and the ability to perceive shadows faded within approximately four weeks.

While the treatment did not restore functional vision, as it could not repair the damaged neural pathways between the eye and the brain, the study demonstrates that mitochondrial therapy can safely provide cellular energy to retinal cells. Scientists are now investigating whether repeated injections or earlier intervention could provide long-term benefits for treating conditions such as glaucoma and other optic neuropathies.