The State - News from April 5, 1987

A 9 1/2-pound bald eagle received a new cornea in what doctors at the University of California Veterinary Medical Hospital in Davis said they believe was the world’s first cornea transplant in a bird. Dr. Mark Mannis said the 75-minute surgery was completed with no complications, but it will be several weeks before doctors know if there are any complications such as tissue rejection. “From a technical standpoint, it was rather routine,” Mannis said. Dr. Chris Murphy said the principal value of the transplant was to attempt to save the individual bird, rather than research, because the procedure is so close to operations on humans. The bird receiving the new cornea is a 2-year-old male--one of only 16 bald eagles believed to be on Santa Catalina Island. The cornea came from a much older bald eagle from Wisconsin.