Though he hasn't regained sight in it yet - it's an accomplishment that's being hailed as a major medical breakthrough.

"The mere fact that we transplanted an eye is a huge step forward, something that within centuries has been thought about, but it's never been performed."

Until now, doctors have only been able to transplant the cornea, the clear front layer of the eye.

James - who survived a work-related high-voltage electrical accident - needed a partial face transplant.

Initially, doctors were just planning to include the eyeball as part of the face transplant for cosmetic reasons.

The surgery took 21 hours.

JAMES: "You know, they told me, they said 'Honestly, we never expected it to make it through transplant'. They never expected it to work at all, and they told me that from the get-go. But just the fact that it's alive, blood flowing through it, I mean, you know, that's the first step and that's what I told them, I said, 'You know, even if I can't see, you know, I didn't have an eye there to begin with, after the accident, maybe at least you all can learn something to help the next person.'"

In the six months since the surgery, doctors say the grafted eye has shown important signs of health, including well-functioning blood vessels and a promising-looking retina.

Lead surgeon Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez says transplantation of a viable eye opens many new possibilities.

"If the possibility of some form of vision restoration occurred, it would be wonderful. But there were significant concerns. The goal was for us to perform the technical operation, ideally have it be vascularized, and then whatever happens after that we'd have to determine with future studies."

Other research teams are developing ways to connect nerve networks in the brain to sightless eyes through the insertion of electrodes, for example, to allow vision.

Meaning James might still regain sight in his transplanted eye.

RODRIGUEZ: "I don't think anyone can claim that he will see. But by the same token, they can't claim that he will not see. At this point, I think we're pretty happy with the result that we were able to achieve with a very technically demanding operation."

JAMES: "That's how you get started. You got to start somewhere. Hopefully, this opens up a new path."