Dad-of-four who lost his eyesight in an acid attack 25 years ago has miraculously regained it after going through a complex stem-cell therapy.
James O’Brien was an unfortunate victim of a random ammonia attack in London when he was just 18. The tragedy left him with blindness in his right eye.
But thanks to an NHS-funded surgery, he has got his eyesight back. “Being able to see through both eyes after all these years means the world to me,” James said.
James, who is now 44, is the first person to receive stem-cell treatment from the NHS.
The doctors utilized stem-cells from his healthy left eye and grew them in required conditions in a lab in Modena, Italy, for almost six months.
James underwent a surgery in Moorfield Eye Hospital in London in which surgeons successfully removed the scar tissues from his impaired eye and replaced them with lab-grown stem cells.
But before implanting a donor cornea in James’ damaged eye, the inserted stem cells needed to grow and settle properly. That’s why James had to wait another year before he could recover his lost sight.
Stems cells, according to NHS, are ‘building blocks of life’ which hold the miraculous ability to bring any damaged or impaired part in a human body back to life.
These cells can produce as well as transform themselves into the type of cells that are required in a specific region.
James, who was over the moon after his successful treatment, said: “It’s the little things I’ve appreciated the most, like being able to see my wife and children clearly for the first time.
“It’s fantastic and has definitely improved my quality of life.”
Speaking of the miseries he had been facing with a blind eye, he said: “Before I could barely see the chart with all the letters on, now I can see the third line down and it’s only going to get much better.
“When I go cycling now, I can look over my shoulder and see what’s coming, which helps.”
The pioneering treatment of James at NHS cost a total of £92,000 ($114,000). He was suggested for the treatment by ophthalmologist Dr. Sajjad Ahmad, who later performed James’ ocular surgery.
James said of Dr. Ahmad: “He told me about this clinical trial that could help with my sight and I didn’t think twice about it, I was well up for it. I felt like I had nothing to lose.
“It feels good to have been part of an important process like this in its earliest stages.”
The surgeons also fixed the scar in James’ right eye, which was also caused by the ammonia attack. “This has had a really positive impact in terms of how I feel about myself,” James said.
“There were times before when children would look at my eye and recoil in horror. Obviously I didn’t take it personally but it’s nice for that not to be an issue anymore.”
Dr. Ahmad said: “James – in a crude sort of way – kindly accepted to be the guinea pig for this treatment.
“Because of what he’s done, it will now enable us to offer it to everyone who needs it.
“This is going to have a huge impact. A lot of these patients are young men so it affects their work, their lives, those around them.”
Replaced!