StemCell Therapy

May 22 2012 By Jack Mathieson

sylvia paton Image 3

A BRAVE Scots mum agreed to be a guinea pig for a pioneering stem cell eye operation which could help millions of people see.

Sylvia Paton, 50, who has just a tenth of normal vision, had stem cells transplanted into her eye in the first op of its kind in the UK.

And she hopes the pioneering technique being developed by Scots scientists will help other sufferers of her condition, known as corneal blindness.

She said yesterday: If we dont have guinea pigs we cant learn anything, and Im quite happy for them to learn from me.

Im so excited about the possibilities of this procedure. It has the potential to save vision, protect and give back vision to people like me.

Even if only a little of my vision is restored, it would be better than nothing.

Sylvia, of Corstorphine, Edinburgh, a PA for the Scottish Government, was born without an iris in her left eye. As a result, the cornea in the eye became damaged, badly affecting her vision.

She also has a cataract in the eye and her sight is getting worse as she ages. Her son Michael, 23, has the same condition, which made her even more determined to have the op.

Link:
Mum tells of delight at pioneering eye operation which has helped restore her sight

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