Cured Of Blindness: A Stem Cell Therapy Story

15/08/2016

Following a 2-year long struggle against blindness caused by macular degeneration, Doug Oliver received stem cell therapy and within two days achieved better than 20/20 vision.

Around 20 years ago Mr. Oliver received the diagnosis.

Doctors made him aware of his macular degeneration, and informed him that he’d be blind within several decades.

His vision would hold out until his 60th birthday, they assured him, but nothing could be done to save it from deteriorating.

But the disease set in much quicker than anticipated.

And after a near-fatal incident on the road, Mr. Oliver was soon back at the clinic receiving an exam that would show his eyesight had all but gone: 20/2000 in the left eye; 20/400 in the right.

Unwilling to settle for his diagnosis, he sought out a surgeon named Dr. Jeffrey Weiss who was conducting a stem cell therapy clinical trial to treat macular degeneration in Florida.

Within two days after the stem cell treatment, Mr. Oliver’s vision had improved dramatically. He recalls the moment on the flight home when the realisation of being cured of blindness started to sink in:

“I could see the boats and the little wake lines that you see from 30,000 feet. I acted like a 6-year-old and loved it,”

A Journey From Blindness To Sight

“I languished mentally and physically for two years,” —Mr. Doug Oliver, stem cell therapy trial participant

As a social policy consultant and IT specialist, Doug Oliver lived a prominent and busy role in his home state. His work entailed a lot of moving around and thus driving was of fundamental importance for him.

And sure enough, it was an accident behind the wheel that made Mr. Oliver realise just how fast his macular degeneration was progressing.

On almost knocking down two pedestrians, Mr. Oliver was issued a fine from the police and was later revoked of his licence; an event that would lead to him having to give up both his roles in IT and social policy.

Over the next few years, Mr. Oliver’s personal and professional life took a significant turn for the worse. From being an active member of society, he came to rely on a monthly disability check to get by, spending much of his time suffering through mental and physical turmoil.

The Miracle Cure Of Stem Cell Therapy

With a seemingly permanent diagnosis, the hope for Mr. Oliver regaining his eyesight was thin. But in 2015, he heard about a stem cell therapy clinical trial in Florida which – he had no clue of at the time – would be the solution he’d long been hoping for.

The treatment was performed by extracting stem cells from the bone marrow of his hip bone and then injecting them into the retinas of his eyes.

Within just a couple of days, Mr. Oliver’s vision experienced a miraculous transformation to 20/40 in his left eye and 20/30 in his right eye.

On returning to his role in the community, Mr. Oliver initiated a dialogue with Senate Health Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn. Together they’re attempting to amplify his success a million times over and pass a new bill named the 21st Century Cures Act, in order to support stem cell clinical trials like the one he was enrolled in.

And on a more personal level, Mr. Oliver recently made another very important journey:

“I went back to the DMV and got my license in Tennessee in December.”