Iran has emerged among the world’s top five countries in eye stem cell transplantation, with a reported success rate exceeding 85 percent and procedures covered entirely by the public healthcare system, according to a senior Iranian ophthalmologist.

Hamed Ghasemi, head of the Iranian Ophthalmology Scientific Association, announced the achievement on Wednesday during the 35th Congress of the Iranian Ophthalmology Scientific Association at the Razi International Conference Center.

“We do not need to send patients abroad for the treatment of eye diseases,” Ghasemi said, emphasizing Iran’s domestic capabilities in advanced ophthalmic care.

“Iran ranks among the world’s top five countries in eye stem cell transplantation, and the procedures are fully funded by the government and have a success rate of more than 85 percent,” he added.

Ghasemi had previously highlighted the routine use of stem cell therapy at Tehran University of Medical Sciences and Farabi Eye Hospital, where specialists use the technique to reconstruct damaged ocular surfaces.

“At Tehran University of Medical Sciences and Farabi Hospital, we routinely use these cells to reconstruct injuries to the ocular surface,” he said in an interview in February.

Iranian stem cell specialists save 2,000 children suffering from life-threatening diseases

Iranian doctors and specialists using stem cell transplantation have given more than 2,000 children suffering from severe and life-threatening diseases a new chance at life.

Explaining the medical applications of the procedure, Ghasemi said injuries caused by chemical exposure or heat can reduce the number of stem cells on the eye’s surface or impair their function, potentially leading to significant vision problems.

“In such cases, we can use stem cell transplantation on the ocular surface to treat the injured patient,” he said.

The transplanted cells help restore the damaged surface of the eye by promoting the healing of the epithelial layer, which plays a crucial role in protecting the eye and maintaining clear vision, he added.

According to Ghasemi, this process can lead to substantial improvements in patients’ vision.

Ghasemi explained that stem cells for transplantation can be obtained from several sources, including the patient’s unaffected eye, a first-degree relative, or the country’s eye bank.

He stressed that the procedure for obtaining donor cells does not cause complications for the donor.

When cells cannot be obtained through these sources, specialists can use cell culture techniques to increase the number of available stem cells, he noted.

“In this method, we expand a small number of stem cells through culture on the amniotic membrane surface,” he explained, referring to the use of amniotic membrane transplantation (AMT) as part of the process.

Ghasemi described ocular surface stem cell transplantation as a complex and time-consuming surgical procedure.

However, he said experienced ophthalmologists at Tehran University of Medical Sciences are currently performing the operation at Farabi Eye Hospital.

He added that the technique has made it possible to treat many ocular surface conditions that were previously considered difficult or impossible to manage.