Experimental stem cell therapy helps paralyzed man regain use of arms and hands
The 21-year-old who suffered a cervical spine injury in March gains significant improvement in his motor function at Keck Hospital of USC.
BY Meg Aldrich, September 9, 2016

On March 6, just shy of his 21st birthday, Kristopher (Kris) Boesen of Bakersfield suffered a traumatic injury to his cervical spine when his car fishtailed on a wet road, hit a tree and slammed into a telephone pole.

His parents were warned there was a good chance their son would be permanently paralyzed from the neck down. However, they also learned that he could possibly qualify for a clinical study that might help.

Enter Keck Medical Center of USC, which announced that a team of doctors became the first in California to inject its patient with an experimental treatment made from stem cells as part of a multi-center clinical trial.

Charles Liu, director of the USC Neurorestoration Center, led the surgical team, working in collaboration with the Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center and Keck Medicine of USC, that injected an experimental dose of 10 million AST-OPC1 cells directly into Boesen’s cervical spinal cord in early April.

AST-OPC1 cells are oligodendrocyte progenitor cells derived from embryonic stem cells. These are cells located in the brain and spinal cord that develop into support cells that help nerve cells function and communicate with each other.

Stem cell controversy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stem_cell_controversy

Points of controversy
Much of the criticism has been a result of religious beliefs, and in the most high-profile case, US President George W Bush signed an executive order banning the use of federal funding for any cell lines other than those already in existence, stating at the time, "My position on these issues is shaped by deeply held beliefs," and "I also believe human life is a sacred gift from our creator."