Health · 27 February 2026
Womb stem cells let second spina bifida baby run
Photo by Rollz International on Unsplash
A boy named Tobi Maginnis, diagnosed with spina bifida at his mother Michelle Johnson's 20-week scan, is able to run, walk and jump after becoming only the second baby to have the condition treated with stem cells before birth. The ground-breaking procedure was part of a world-first clinical trial at the University of California Davis Children's Hospital, where surgeons placed a patch of placenta-derived stem cells over Tobi's exposed spinal cord at around 25 weeks of pregnancy. His mother told Sky News she had expected him to be wheelchair-bound.
Reported by Sky News · How we write briefs