PROCORD PROCEDURE WEB SCRIPT (Video clip available)

24 year old Justin Richardson describes the day his life changed forever. "There was a very good chance I would be on a respirator for the rest of my life, that I wasn't going to walk again and that my injury was so severe so not to expect little to no improvement," recalls Justin.

Ironically, Justin at one time, was a competitive swimmer.but just 2 years ago while enjoying time at his friend's pool, a poor judgment call turned his world upside down. Justin broke his neck, he had a complete spinal cord injury. "It's pretty impossible to absorb that at first it was more of a state of shock and disbelief and it's more of a void of thought than a thought process," said Justin.

Justin was faced with the possibility of never having feeling in his arms, hands and legs for the rest of his life. "Treatment options at that point were extremely limited. It was basically rehab-based treatment, basically learn to live with this disability rather than any chance of improvement," said Justin.

But, both he and his supportive family were not giving up without a fight. His family came across the Procord procedure on the internet. It's a new biotechnology that is helping heal the damaged central nervous system in spinal cord injury patients.

The cell therapy involves using cells in the body called macrophages. They belong to the white blood cell family and are a part of our immune system which helps fight infection and promotes healing in wounds.

"What happens elsewhere in the body is that if you cut your arm or cut your leg, these cells are the first ones to rush to the scene, almost like a pac-man video game and they eat up the debris that the injury has caused. What they do is they create an environment that is conducive to healing," explains Dr. Karen Kepler, Director of the Spinal Cord Injury Program at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.

The brain and spinal cord make up the central nervous system which controls speech, walking, breathing and blinking.it also has virtually no regenerative ability, so injury to the spinal cord causes permanent damage and disability. The initial damage is amplified as the damage spreads beyond the primary lesion causing extensive functional loss of the extremities.

But, the Procord procedure works by interrupting stages in the damage process. Skin is taken from the arm of the patient and blood is drawn to collect the macrophage cells.

These cells are treated in a lab and then injected into the site of the spinal cord injury, to stimulate a repair process. These activated macrophage cells promote regeneration of the nerve fibers.

At the time, Justin traveled to a hospital in Israel to have the Procord procedure. Currently, the FDA is now conducting Phase II clinical trials.

Dr. Steven Kirshbalm, Director of Spinal Cord Injury at Kessler Institute for Spinal Cord Rehabilitation, says the arrival of Procord has the ability to dramatically change the course of spinal cord injury recovery. "What we all want is a cure, what we currently have is a tremendous amount of hope," says Dr. Kirshbalm.

Justin's trip to Israel was indeed a journey of hope. And, now thanks to Procord and Justin's invincible spirit, he is slowly but most definitely conquering his injury. "Most importantly, below my chest, I could not feel anything at all. Someone touched me, now a family member or girlfriend, it doesn't sound like much to an able-bodied person, but to have that taken away from you, you realize that to get that back is just, it's beyond words what it means to you."

After surgery, Justin had several weeks of rehab in Israel and then 2 months of additional rehab back in the states. During the FDA's Phase I trial of Procord, four of the 16 patients that were initially diagnosed as suffering from a complete spinal cord injury, were able to obtain movement and or feeling not only below their injury but also into their lower extremities. The completion of the Phase II trials should be in around a year.