A father who went blind in one eye following an acid attack has regained his sight thanks to a new treatment involving adult stem cells, it was reported in September.
James O’Brien had ammonia sprayed in his face when he was 18, which burned the surface of his eye, leaving scar tissue. Now 44, he has been undergoing treatment at London’s Moorfields Eye Hospital for the past 18 months.
Doctors took tissue from his healthy eye and used it to grow new tissue in the blind eye. He was given a 75% chance of success, and after further treatment, including receiving a donated cornea, the results of the work were clear. O’Brien said: ‘I can see! … I can see everything!’
Although embryonic stem cell treatments have produced ‘cures’ for illnesses, many ethical treatments have been successful. The removal of stem cells from places including the umbilical cord, patients’ own bone marrow, and amniotic fluid, have resulted in successful treatments to a range of medical conditions.
