England’s first artificial cornea transplant hailed a success

Published

2 years ago

June 4, 2024

admin

A 91-year-old man has become the first person in England to be fitted with a ground-breaking artificial cornea.

Cecil ‘John’ Farley, 91, said his sight was now improving thanks to the procedure, which he underwent after 15 years of suffering from problems with his eyes.

The cornea is the clear outer layer at the front of the eyeball – and is described by the NHS as the “window to the eye”.

A person can suffer from vision problems and pain if the thin transparent covering is damaged by disease or injury – with those affected often left facing a long wait for a human transplant.

However, it is hoped that the artificial device, called EndoArt, will slash waiting times, ease pressure on the NHS and eliminate the risk of the human body rejecting corneas received from an organ donor.

Mr Farley, from Chobham in Surrey, said he was overjoyed by the transplant – in his right eye – because it meant he could continue to see his 83-year-old wife Elizabeth.

He said: “I can still see my wife after 63 years of marriage, we can just carry on as normal and live life as fully as we can.

“It makes your life fuller when your eyes work properly – you don’t realise how debilitating it is until it happens to you.”

Before the surgery, Mr Farley had no vision in his right eye – but his sight has slowly been improving ever since the procedure in February.

He said: “It has made a great difference to my sight. It was very blurred and I couldn’t distinguish a face.

“Now I can see better with it, the brighter the light the better. It’s coming along slowly – they said it could take up to a year.”

The artificial cornea has been compared to a contact lens. The device, which replaces the inner part of the cornea, is surgically attached to the eye by a single stitch and is put in place with a gas bubble.

Patients could see major impact

One of the biggest advantages of using artificial corneas is the huge reduction in waiting time for the procedure. It means patients on the elective backlog who risk further deterioration in their vision can be seen months earlier than they would waiting for a cornea transplant from an organ donor.

But at the moment the artificial cornea operation can only be carried out on patients who meet the “complex eye” criteria. These include patients whose previous human cornea transplant has failed.

Consultant ophthalmologist Tom Poole, who carried out the procedure, is confident the surgery can be rolled out to “virgin eye” patients in the future. These are patients with no previous history of eye surgery.

Mr Poole told me the international ophthalmology community was growing increasingly confident with artificial corneas which are relatively easy to make and their production could be scaled up quite easily.

He and his colleague Hanbin Lee at Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust have already carried out three more operations since February.

The latest tests on Mr Farley suggest the procedure has been a success. Three more patients have been identified and are listed for surgery.

Only 200 people worldwide, including Mr Farley, have been fitted with an EndoArt so far, but there are hopes it can be more widely rolled out.

Organic cornea transplants usually come from deceased donors. A total of 4,719 were donated to the NHS in 2022/23, according to the latest available figures.

Consultant ophthalmologist Thomas Poole, from Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust in Surrey, which carried out the procedure, described the artificial cornea as a “great advancement”.

He said there had been fears that Mr Farley was “kind of getting to [his] last hope” after a previous human transplant failed.

Mr Poole said: “I had a very frank discussion with him before and I said: ‘Look, your graft has failed, you’re back on the waiting list. Because your other eye sees quite well, you’re not a high priority on the waiting list and you could be waiting for another year’.

“He’s in his 90s now and said ‘I just can’t wait that long. Is there anything else?’ And so this sprung to mind.

“I had just read a publication on very good reports from this artificial graft and it was that that made me think actually, maybe we could use this for John.”

Mr Poole and his colleague Hanbin Lee have now successfully given four patients artificial corneas in the last two months and the initial results have shown an improvement in vision.

He added: “Looking forward to the future, I think this may end up replacing human corneas for certain types of corneal graft patients.

“In maybe 10 or 20 years’ time – this may become the norm where we don’t need a human cornea, and we can just take one out of the box.”

Mr Farley, a former flooring company owner, said that once his sight is restored he hopes to do practical tasks like repairing a watch.

However, for now, he is content “pottering about”.

UK

England and Scotland fans discover where their opening World Cup games will be played

Published

3 hours ago

December 6, 2025

admin

England and Scotland fans discover where their opening World Cup games will be played

England and Scotland fans have found out where their World Cup group games will be played when the tournament kicks off in June.

England, who are in Group L, will begin their tournament against Croatia in Dallas at 4pm EST (9pm BST) on 17 June. They will then go on to face Ghana in Boston at 4pm EST (9pm BST) on 23 June and Panama in New Jersey, New York, at 5pm EST (10pm BST) on 27 June.

Scotland are in Group C, and their first match will be against Haiti in Boston at 9pm EST on 13 June (2am GMT the following morning).

They will go up against Morocco also in Boston at 6pm EST (11pm GMT) on 19 June and then Brazil in Miami at 6pm EST (11pm GMT) on 24 June.

Fans are expected to rush to sort their travel and accommodation plans now that they know where and when the matches take place.

Wales and Northern Ireland have yet to find out if they will qualify.

Wales must face a play-off against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Cardiff, then either Italy or Northern Ireland, if they are victorious.

If they beat these play-off opponents, they will secure their place in Group B alongside Canada, Qatar and Switzerland.

However, Northern Ireland will also be vying to guarantee their spot in the same group if they can beat Italy and then either Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Please refresh the page for the latest version.

You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.

UK

World Cup 2026 – who England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland will play

Published

15 hours ago

December 6, 2025

admin

World Cup 2026 - who England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland will play

Scotland and England now know who they will face in the group stage of the next summer’s world cup.

But the fates of Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Wales won’t be determined until they compete in pre-tournament play-off matches in March.

England are in Group L along with Croatia, Panama and Ghana. Their first match will be against Croatia, who beat them in the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Scotland’s first match will be against Haiti, in Group C.

Brazil and Morocco are the other Group C teams – both countries were also in the same opening group as Scotland in the 1998 World Cup in France.

Wales have yet to find out if they will qualify as they must face a play-off against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Cardiff, and then either Italy or Northern Ireland, if they are victorious.

If they can overcome these play-off opponents then they will secure their place in Group B along with Canada, Qatar and Switzerland. But Northern Ireland will also be vying and hoping to guarantee their spot in the same group if they can beat Italy and then either Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Republic of Ireland also need to get through the play-offs first and are paired against the Czech Republic for their semi-final. Should Ireland win that match, they will need to beat either North Macedonia or Denmark to get to the finals where an opening group containing joint hosts Mexico, South Africa and South Korea awaits.

UK

Crafted for one man – this was a World Cup draw like no other

Published

15 hours ago

December 6, 2025

admin

Crafted for one man - this was a World Cup draw like no other

This was a World Cup draw like no other. Crafted less for the teams but for one man.

The choice of venue. The creation of a new trophy. The closing music act.

Donald Trump was lavished with the adulation he craves by FIFA President Gianni Infantino and feels others unfairly deny him.

Knowing how much being overlooked by the Nobel Committee hurt the US president, there was Mr Infantino with FIFA’s newly-created Peace Prize to hand over. And a medal for Mr Trump to wear.

“This is truly one of the great honours of my life,” he said. “And beyond awards, Gianni and I were discussing this. We saved millions and millions of lives.”

This was all on the stage in front of an audience who turned up to find out who they will be playing at the World Cup.

England handed an undaunting route past Croatia, Panama and Ghana. Scotland paired with newcomers Haiti before tricky reunions from their last men’s World Cup in 1998 against Brazil and Morocco.

But the show before the draw could even begin – presided over by Rio Ferdinand – took almost as long as a football match, at 87 minutes after the noon kick-off was delayed.

There was a walk of self-promotion to complete – “I guess they have to wait” – before taking his seat in the Kennedy Center. Or the Trump Kennedy Center as the president takes to calling the venue picked 1.5 miles from the White House.

“It was falling apart,” he said, delaying the walk into the auditorium. “And now it’s, it’s pretty much back.”

Mr Infantino could only watch on, beaming, at his friend.

“We had a dead country,” Mr Trump went on, “and now we have the hottest country anywhere in the world”.

There was the awkwardness of being reminded, before receiving the peace accolade, about threats to launch military strikes on Venezuela to stop the drugs trade.

“I did settle eight wars, and we have a ninth coming,” he swatted away the question. “Which nobody’s ever done before. But I want to really save lives. I don’t need prizes.”

But FIFA knew how much he wanted more gold for the collection with the prize.

More on this story:
What draw means for England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland

And for all the mockery and disdain targeted at FIFA, how many sports would relish having the US president spend several hours attending a procedural event determining the placing of teams in groups for a tournament?

How many would dish out the same flattery to secure direct lines to the leader of the nation staging their championship?

Many have benefited from Mr Trump’s stardust and swagger being attached to this spectacle.

Even Port Vale’s most famous fan – Robbie Williams – secured a walk-on role, exceeding his profile this side of the Pond.

And the Village People are reaping the rewards of becoming the unlikeliest of Trump hype acts.

The festivities ended with eyes fixed back up to the presidential seating and the YMCA dance being performed.

This was an afternoon that dispelled any pretence that FIFA keeps a distance from politics. It was unapologetically political. But few speak out in the FIFA world as the redistributed wealth keeps rolling back in their direction.

It would be easy to forget this isn’t entirely America’s World Cup. They’re sharing hosting with Canada and Mexico.

And eventually the spotlight was ceded to their leaders – very briefly – as Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney drew out their countries’ names.

But it did live up to FIFA’s mantra that football can unite the world.

The neighbours were brought together here on a snowy day in Washington. And tensions – often stoked by Mr Trump with Canada and Mexico – thawed in the name of football.