A British Jewish doctor is behind a new treatment for spinal cord injuries, which has been hailed as a historic breakthrough.
Geoffrey Raisman, who grew up in Leeds, pioneered a new method of treating injuries previously thought to be incurable.
The method was successfully tested on Polish firefighter Darek Fidyka, who has now learnt to walk after being paralysed from waist-down after being stabbed with a knife four years ago. Cells from the 38-year-old’s nose were used to re-grow cells in his spine.
Professor Raisman, the chair of neural regeneration at the UCL Institute of Neurology, who led the research team, said: “It is immensely gratifying to see that years of research have now led to the development of a safe technique for transplanting cells into the spinal cord. I believe we stand on the threshold of a historic advance and that the continuation of our work will be of major benefit to mankind.
