US spinal injury patients to get stem cell treatment

IT is being hailed as a new age in medicine, though it will spark controversy as it is one of the world’s most divisive issues.

Scientists in the US have taken the first step towards treating spinal injury patients with stem cells.

After being given the green light by the powerful Food and Drug Administration, Geron Corp. has enrolled the first patient for its early-stage human-embryonic stem-cell treatment at the Shepherd Centre, a spinal cord and brain injury rehabilitation hospital in Atlanta, Georgia.