On Oct. 21, 2026, a woman in her 50s who received the first transplant of heart muscle cell sheets made from induced pluripotent stem, or iPS, cells is set to be discharged from a hospital in Osaka, a city in western Japan, on Thursday.

“A week after the surgery, I can now breathe very deeply,” she told a press conference at the hospital on Wednesday. “I feel alive and comfortable.”

The surgery marked the first transplant of a regenerative medicine product derived from iPS cells.

The patient from Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, developed acute myocardial infarction in 2022. Despite treatment with medication, her heart function gradually declined, affecting her daily life and ultimately leading to the transplant.

During the surgery on Sept. 29, three myocardial cell sheets were applied to her heart. She has experienced no major complications and has recovered to the point where she can walk.