For the first time, strangers were transplanted to man.

The Japanese man became the first person who received induced stem cells from the donor. The operation was carried out on March 28 in the hospital in Kobe, reports the website of Nature magazine.

The Japanese, who is now over 60, suffers from maculodistrophy - the defeat of the yellow spot in the retina, which leads to blindness. To prevent the progression of degenerative processes, the man was transplanted by induced pluripotent cells obtained from the skin of an anonymous donor.

Induced pluripotent cells (IPS) are obtained from the formed cells of one of the parts of the body. They are “reprogrammed” into an embryonic state, and then stimulated to ensure that they develop in the cells that are required to cure the disease. During the operation in Japan, in this way, cells of a healthy retina were obtained, which then planted the patient. It is reported that the operation has passed normally, the body of the recipient does not reject the donor material.

Donor IPS cells cannot completely genetically correspond to the recipient. As in the case of organs transplantation, doctors are looking for the most suitable donors. Currently, specialists working with stem cells create a cell bank to increase the chance of finding optimal donors for patients. Cell banks will also reduce waiting time when receiving material for transplantation (to grow pluripotent cells, it takes several months) and reduce the cost of operations.

Earlier, in 2014, during an operation, also carried out at the Kobe hospital, the woman was transplanted by the retinal cells formed from the IPS cells taken from her own skin. Then the doctors failed to implant this material to another recipient, since genetic deviations were found in the cells. 2.5 years after the procedure, the first patient feels good, her vision did not deteriorate, scientists said. According to the plan approved by the Japanese Ministry of Health, such operations will be carried out by four more patients.