No Major Complications Occur from Donor iPS Cell Transplants

Society Lifestyle Science Technology

Tokyo, April 18 (Jiji Press)--No serious complications occurred one year after the surgeries to transplant into eye disease patients retina cells created from donor induced pluripotent stem, or iPS, cells, a team of involved institutions said Thursday.

The absence of major complications such as tumor development and retinal detachment led the team to confirm to a certain extent the safety of transplanting donor iPS cells as a treatment method.

The team includes Japanese government-affiliated research institute Riken and Kobe City Medical Center General Hospital.

"The outcome was good," said Riken project leader Masayo Takahashi. "Few unexpected things occurred, and we were able to achieve our goal."

Five men in their 60s to 80s with exudative age-related macular degeneration, which causes the worsening of vision due to damaged retina tissues, received the transplant surgeries.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]

Jiji Press