Patient Name, Age, Country

Shirdesh Singh, 2, South Africa

Check out Shirdesh's video here. 

StemCellsChina would like to thank Jeevan, Shirdesh's grandfather, for writing a Patient Experience for him--and us!

Condition

Left eye, ROP "advanced" Stage 4

Right eye, ROP Stage 5

Cataracts in both eyes

Limited light perception only.

Course of Treatment

3 IVs with 2 spinal transplants

Reason for Coming for Treatment

Shirdesh was born at 32 weeks. Two months later we detected a problem with his eyes. After several consultations with the retina clinic Durban, South Africa, it was determined that he was blind. ROP in both eyes. Consultations with various doctors in South Africa proved unsuccessful in restoring his vision.

Condition After the Treatment

His eyes have stopped rolling. He started to focus attention on things, looking at objects inquisitively. He reaches out for them at a distance of a liitle over a foot away. We know he sees these objects because he smiles when he does this. The miracle started to happen after his first treatment. We were not convinced then but during his 3rd treatment he started showing positive signs of vision. His mother moved a picture from left to right. He followed the movement and then we knew he was actually seeing the picture. He held a piece of paper in his hand and stared at it for a very long time and while doing this he had a very different smile on his face. We never saw this before. We knew then that stem cell treatment triggerred the vision. Now it's a matter of how much he will improve over time.

Patient's Condition Today

A recent visit to our ophthalmologist also confirms the marked improvement. The abnormal blood vessels in his eyes have now all disappearred indicating a possible growth of new blood vessels. The right eye has prominent cataract scarring. The left eye also has a cataract. This is very shallow and not visible to the naked eye. The doctors in China had advised us  this is also blocking his vision. Our local opthamologist has also confirmed this. In view of this she is unable to determine how much of the retina has actually reattached. The cataract is blocking her view on this.  She has no doubt of his marked improvement from her observations now and in comparrison to her examination before we left South Africa to China. Shirdesh is scheduled to have the cataract in his left eye removed. Once this happens we are hopeful for him having more vision. His doctor will then be a ble to give us a more comprehensive report of his present condition. 

-Jeevan, Grandfather