00:03When Reid was diagnosed with a rare condition impacting his optic nerve, it meant blindness
00:09with no known cure.
00:11We were just told that Reid could be under LED light and tell you if that was on or off
00:16and that would always be as good as his eyesight got.
00:18The search for potential treatments led the Port Macquarie family to Thailand and untested
00:24stem cell therapy not available in Australia.
00:27They say it's changed their lives.
00:31I put him in the car the other day and he told me he could see me smiling.
00:35While the five-year-old remains legally blind, before and after tests from his orthoptist
00:41show improvement.
00:42Just having that extra independence and safety is just such a relief.
00:48Stem cells have potential because they can multiply indefinitely and change into any other
00:54type of cell, but scientists say they're not a silver bullet.
00:58For now, stem cell therapies in Australia are limited to the treatment of some blood conditions
01:04like leukemia, with treatments in other areas still not clinically proven.
01:09We want to be able to reproduce and to make sure the products that we're developing are not
01:16only safe, but they work, and they work consistently.
01:19Essentially, it's not available here in Australia because there's no good evidence for it working.
01:24Scientists are warning those considering overseas treatments to know the risks and consult
01:29their doctors.
01:30Some of the clinics that I've followed overseas, the people who've been there can have quite
01:36severe side effects and complications.
01:40But they say there is hope in the long term.
01:43The eye is a very attractive site for these emerging stem cell therapies, particularly because
01:50it's a relatively small organ.
01:52I think as these studies progress and as an evidence base does build up for these therapies,
01:58I'm very confident that they will be available here in Australia.
02:02It will be life changing for many people.
02:04Looking forward to a time when treatment takes place closer to home.
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