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Chennai Provides Hope For Iraqi Patient

New Hope Medical Centre, Chennai has given a new hope to a paralysed Iraqi national by making him walk with the help of stem cells. Khaled-d-Maklef (29) was one of the several unfortunate victims of Iraq turmoil. He was shot four times, including a bullet which ripped through his spine, paralysing his entire body during March 2005.

Many doctors across Iraq said that he would never walk again, but somehow he landed up in New Hope Medical Centre. Khaled came to know about the Hospital through the Internet, since it had treated another Iraqi patient earlier.

Dr Simon Hercules, Brain & Spine Surgeon and the Director of the Hospital used stem cell to cure the patient. While stem cell is generally obtained from foetus and the umbilical cord, Dr Simon used stem cells from bone marrow, which was injected into his spine.

Explaining the procedure, Dr Simon said, "The autologous (from one's own body) stem cells taken from the bone marrow of the patient was processed in the laboratory and directly injected onto the spinal cord."

Khaled was given intensive physiotherapy and after 29 days, he was able to sit on his bed. He is slowly practicing to walk too. "Since he was in the bed for two years, he has to continue his physiotherapy for sometime in order to walk," said Dr Simon. The average cost of the treatment varies from Rs 1.5 to Rs 2.5 lakh, depending on the severity of the injury, added Dr Simon.

EH News Bureau