• Question: is it true that we will be able to buy eyes and replace our own with them?

    Asked by kjkratos to Christine, Edd, Jess, Nicolas, Zara on 17 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Edward Codling

      Edward Codling answered on 17 Jun 2011:

      An interesting question!

      I don’t think we’ll be buying body parts from other people – this is very much illegal in Britain! However, we do have the organ donor system where people can opt to voluntarily donate parts of their body if they die (since they are no use to them any more!) However, it would be a very bad idea if we started allowing people to make money from this – otherwise people who are poor or down on their luck might feel under pressure to sell parts of themselves (meaning they might then be more at risk of getting ill themselves).

      It may be possible for artificial eyes to be developed though. I can see two ways this could happen – using engineering technology to make an electronic eye or implant or perhaps even use cell engineering to grow artificial eyes in a test tube that would then be transplanted.

      However, I don’t think either of these options would be available for sale – they would be given to you if you had specific problems with your eyes and needed them being replaced.

      There are some interesting issues that are raised with this though – we could (in theory) develop x-ray eyes or eyes that could see in the dark – should we allow people to have these?

      We have some of this technology already – a man who has been blind was able to see thanks to an implant recently: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-11670044

    • Photo: Zara Gladman

      Zara Gladman answered on 17 Jun 2011:

      Hi kjkratos!

      There is a book and film (with Tom Cruise) called Minority Report in which one of the characters buys some new eyes! I found the scene where they took his old eyes out quite hard to watch! 😐

      Anyway, in answer to your question.. like Edd said, I don’t think it would be a good thing if people started to make money by selling their eyes! And I don’t think the law would allow it either, at least in this country.

      What may be possible though, is for us to grow eyes! By using stem cells, we might be able to grow new parts of the body. People who need new body parts (including eyes) may be able to use their own cells to grow the new part – this would mean that organ transplants wouldn’t be needed any more (a big problem with transplants is that there are not enough donations for everyone, and also there is a risk that the patient’s body will reject the new ‘foreign’ part).

      Artificial ‘bionic’ eyes may also be developed to try and cure blindless. Like Edd mentioned, a man was cured of blindness recently because of a special implant!

    • Photo: Jessica Chu

      Jessica Chu answered on 17 Jun 2011:

      Ooo good question!

      I think the most likely thing that can do that is through Stem Cell research. Stem cells are not yet specialised cells in our body so for example blood stem cells will have the potential to be either a type of white blood cell or a red blood cell. Before the stem cell become specialised it can just keep on duplicating if it wants to.
      So there is potential to ‘grow your own’ eyes … hands and feet!!
      If stem cells from your bone marrow are taken then scientists can put it in an environment that can promote the stem cells to become a certain type of specialised by adding different growth proteins etc. to it!
      Different cells respond to different proteins so by giving it loads of certain ones might direct it to specialise into certain body parts/organs.

      However there is also a big ethical question with using embryonic stem cell (stem cells taken from the embryo.. a developing baby) because these cells are even more special – they have the potential to be anything!
      Unlike adult stem cells which the cells can only develop into cells related to the tissue of origin- like the blood example I have mentioned.

      So if we do use stem cells from our own body to grow eyes for ourselves that will also mean that our own immune system is more likely to recognise the new eye as our own cells and not attack it.

      Here is a BBC article on eye stem cells stuff 🙂
      http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6721685.stm

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