The operation making paralysed walk for their first time

The operation making the paralysed walk for their first time

A pioneering treatment has helped a paralysed man walk again. In the video above, the scientist who developed the therapy tells the story behind the breakthrough.

Around 2-3million people worldwide have spinal cord injury. When the spinal cord is injured every part of the body is paralysed below it and without sensation.

But now scientists have achieved a remarkable feat. For the first time a cell transplantation treatment has allowed a man paralysed from the chest down to get up from his wheelchair and walk.

The pioneering therapy takes the regenerative cells that repair and renew our sense of smell, and uses them to form new connections to form in the damaged spinal cord. Thanks to this, 40-year old Darek Fidyka from Poland, who suffered his injuries after a knife attack, can now walk using a frame.

The man who has spent decades developing the procedure is Professor Geoffrey Raisman, chair of neural regeneration at University College London's Institute of Neurology. In this video he describes his tireless journey behind the achievement, how it works, and why he thinks no-one should have to pay a single penny for his achievements.