Research efforts in whole eye transplantation (WET) are focused on its application in living human recipients, still some obstacles need to be addressed.
Apart from the surgical and neurological considerations, there are key ethical concerns such as patients' perceptions and desires for both nonvision-restoring WET and vision-restoring WET, risks and benefits compared to prosthetic alternatives, psychosocial considerations for potential recipients regarding personal identity related to the donor's eyes, public perceptions of whole-eye donation, implications for corneal transplantation eligibility of the donor's eyes, consent for whole-eye donation, and establishment of ethical mechanisms for allocation and distribution of WET.
[8] The recipient, Aaron James, had lost the left side of his face with his eye, nose and mouth in a high-voltage power line accident.
[8] Reuters reported that the transplanted eye has "well-functioning blood vessels and a promising-looking retina".
[8] The lead surgeon, Eduardo D. Rodriguez, said that "If some form of vision restoration occurred, it would be wonderful, but ... the goal was for us to perform the technical operation".