Darek Fidyka is walking again - four years after a knife attack left him paralyzed.
"When the feeling begins to come back - it is like you are born again."
Doctors in Poland took cells from Fidyka's nose and grew them in the lab. Two weeks later they transplanted the cells into his spinal cord around the injury.
Four strips of nerve tissue were also taken from his ankle and placed across his spinal cord.
The cells grew - and now some brain signals are reaching his lower body.
"You are making history now. To me, this is more impressive than the man walking on the moon," says professor Geoff Raisman of the University College London.
Scientists believe the nasal cavity cells can stimulate the spinal cord cells to regenerate. Researchers are excited about the procedure's promise.
"I've waited 40 years for a moment like this. And I am hopeful this moment will be repeated and confirmed," says Keele University professor Wagih El Masri.
Fidyka, who is now able to walk with a frame, says it's an incredible feeling .
The 38-year-old has regained some sensation in his lower limbs and is also able to drive and live more independently.
Researchers in England and Poland who carried out the operation say more study is needed and they plan to test it on more patients.
