[4] Olfactory ensheathing cells (OEC) have been transplanted with success into the spinal cord of a Polish man named Darek Fidyka, who was the survivor of a knife attack that left him paraplegic in 2010.

The surgery was performed in Poland in collaboration with Prof. Geoff Raisman, chair of neural regeneration at University College London's Institute of Neurology, and his research team.

[6] Fidyka regained sensory and motor function in his lower limbs, notably on the side of the transplanted OEC's.

Fidyka first noticed the success three months after the procedure, when his left thigh started gaining muscle mass.

He is believed to be the first person in the world to recover sensory function from a complete severing of the spinal nerves.