Chennai: The Rajan Eye Care Hospital and Darshan Eye Clinic on Tuesday signed an MOU with Nichi-In Centre for Regenerative Medicine (NCRM), an Indo-Japan organization working on stem cells. The work includes basic research, translational studies and clinical application with Indian and Japanese institutes for stem cell research for various eye diseases.

The NCRM, with expertise in stem cell isolation and expansion, tissue engineering, developing specific biomaterials and nanotechnology, will take up the project of harvesting mucosa from the cheek of the patient and use innovative techniques to multiply these cells in the laboratory. The surgeons will then transfer these on to the eye of patients with ocular surface disease.

Rajan Eye Care, which has already been using autologous stem cells from the tooth for a procedure called modified osteo odento keretoplastis, decided to go in for oral mucosa for patients with a lesser degree of injury in both the eyes as it would bring down the costs.