Life after Death for the Human Eye: Vision Scientists Revive Light-Sensing Cells in Organ Donor Eyes

Moran Eye Center scientist Frans Vinberg, PhD, grew up in Finland with the darkness of Arctic winters and the contrast of its midnight sun.

As a scientist, he’s made a career out of studying how the eye’s retina processes the contrasts between light and dark. His innovative approach stands to transform brain and vision research.

In 2022, Vinberg made headlines when he and colleagues revived light-sensing neuron cells in organ donor eyes and restored communication between them. Published in the prestigious journal Nature, their work provides a road map for how the field can begin using functioning human eye cells for research and drug development.

“The scientific community can now study human vision in ways that aren’t possible with animal models,” says Vinberg.

Frans Vinberg, PhD.

The Story Of A Neuron

Billions of neurons in our central nervous system transmit sensory information as electrical signals; specialized neurons known as photoreceptors sense light in the eye. Vinberg’s research used the retina as a model of the central nervous system to investigate precisely how neurons die— and new methods to revive them.

It was a painstaking process requiring years of experimentation conducted in a dark room to record cell responses to different light stimuli. Fatima Abbas, PhD, lead author of the published study and then a postdoctoral fellow in the Vinberg Lab, performed most of the experiments.

“We were able to wake up photoreceptor cells in the human macula, which is the part of the retina responsible for our central vision and our ability to see fine detail and color,” explains Abbas. “In eyes obtained up to five hours after an organ donor’s death, these cells responded to bright light, colored lights, and even very dim flashes of light.”

Fatima Abbas, PhD, lead author of the study, conducted experiments in the dark as she exposed donor eye tissue to different kinds of light and recorded photoreceptor responses.

While initial experiments revived the photoreceptors, the cells appeared to have lost their ability to communicate with other cells in the retina. The team identified oxygen deprivation as the critical factor leading to this loss of communication. They procured organ donor eyes in under 20 minutes from death to overcome the challenge.

Vinberg, who has a PhD in biomedical engineering, designed a special transportation unit to restore oxygenation and other nutrients to the organ donor eyes. Vinberg also built a device to stimulate the retina and measure the electrical activity of its cells. With this approach, the team restored an electrical signal seen in living eyes, the “b-wave.” It was the first b-wave recording from the central retina of postmortem human eyes.

“We were able to make the retinal cells talk to each other, the way they do in the living eye to mediate human vision,” says Vinberg.

To some, Vinberg’s approach might border on the macabre. But its benefits are clear.

Scientists can use the process demonstrated by the team to study other neuronal tissues in the central nervous system to develop potential new therapies for neurodegenerative diseases, including blinding retinal diseases. The method can reduce research costs when compared to nonhuman primate research. It also reduces dependence on animal models that don’t always apply to humans. Mice, for example, are often used for research, but they lack a macula, a critical structure in the back of the human eye involved in central vision.

“We hope this will motivate organ donor societies, organ donors, and eye banks by helping them understand the exciting new possibilities this type of research offers,” says Vinberg.

Authors of the study were Abbas, Silke Becker, PhD, Bryan W. Jones, PhD, and Vinberg of the University of Utah; Ludovic S. Mure, PhD, and Satchidananda Panda, PhD, of The Salk Institute for Biological Studies; and Anne Hanneken, MD, of Scripps Research.

What's Next?

Working with the Utah Lions Eye Bank, Vinberg is refining techniques to revive donor eye tissue recovered within one hour after death. This would extend the time window for harvesting functioning retinal tissue for research.

Scan to view a video about the Vinberg Lab research breakthrough.