By SCM Staff Writer I Monday, Nov. 03, 2025
JERUSALEM – In a major medical advance, doctors have successfully implanted a revolutionary, Israeli-developed artificial cornea, offering hope to thousands of patients who cannot receive or have rejected human donor tissue.
For the first time in Israel, physicians at Kaplan Medical Center in Rehovot have successfully implanted the EndoArt artificial cornea, a device that completely bypasses the need for a human donor to restore sight.
The groundbreaking procedure was performed on a patient suffering from severe corneal edema who had already endured the heartbreak of rejecting three previous donor transplants.
This rejection, a common and devastating complication, often leaves patients with no further treatment options.
A Donor-Free Solution
The EndoArt, developed by the Israeli company EyeYon Medical, is a revolutionary device that addresses the core problem of tissue rejection. Instead of using a human allograft, the device replaces the cornea’s damaged inner layer with a thin, bioinert film that the body does not reject.
The result is immediate and transformative: restored vision for the patient with zero donor tissue required.
Prof. Arie Marcovich, who led the procedure, hailed the success, calling it “a real breakthrough that gives hope to patients who’ve exhausted all options.”
New Hope for Thousands
This successful implantation marks a significant milestone in global ophthalmology and offers new hope for the thousands of people currently on corneal transplant waiting lists in Israel and around the world.
The development not only eliminates the scarcity of donor tissue but also overcomes the persistent challenge of tissue rejection.
Once again, Israeli innovation is changing lives and leading global medicine, providing a critical solution to a long-standing medical challenge.
