Q: I have no vision in my left eye since childhood. Please advise if my eye can be replaced.

A:The eyeball cannot be replaced. Replacing an eye is like replacing a part of the brain. It would involve anastomosing (connecting) hundreds of thousands of nerve fibres of the donor eyeball to the cut end of the optic nerve of the recipient, besides anastomosing the blood supply and muscles. This has not been possible so far. You are probably wondering what eye donation is all about. When an eyeball is removed from a deceased person, the tissue that is commonly used is the cornea. Corneal transplants are done routinely and can restore eyesight when a diseased or damaged cornea is the cause of loss of vision.