Surgeons at NYU Langone Health in New York have successfully performed the world’s first whole eye and partial face transplant on a patient from Arkansas, the hospital announced Thursday.

The entire left eye and part of the face were taken from a single unnamed donor and transplanted to Aaron James, 46, a U.S. military veteran who lost his left eye, nose, lips, front teeth, left cheek and part of his chin in a 2021 electrical accident.

“Aaron has been extremely motivated to regain the function and independence he lost after his injury,” NYU Langone Face Transplant Program Director Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez said in a statement released by the hospital. “We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect patient. … The mere fact that we’ve accomplished the first successful whole-eye transplant with a face is a tremendous feat many have long thought was not possible.”

Stem cells taken from the donor’s bone marrow were used to help regenerate Mr. James’ optic nerve as part of the procedure, the first time adult stem cells have been used for such a purpose.

The procedure was completed in May 2023, and the hospital is waiting to see if the transplant will ultimately let Mr. James regain his sight out of his left eye. The patient’s progress thus far has been encouraging, doctors said.

“The progress we’ve seen with the eye is exceptional, especially considering that we have a viable cornea paired with a retina showing great blood flow five months after the procedure. This far exceeds our initial expectations, given our initial hope was that the eye would survive at least 90 days,” NYU Langone Department of Surgery Vice Chair of Quality Dr. Bruce Gelb said.

Mr. James went in knowing his sight may not be restored, telling the Reuters news agency, “I told them, ‘Even if I can’t see… maybe at least you all can learn something to help the next person.’ That’s how you get started.”

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.