Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of stem cell therapy treatment to restore sight.

The assessment about the potential merits of stem cell therapy is undertaken by The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and NHS England commissions care in line with the NICE guidance.

NICE issued guidance in 2017 on the use of Holoclar for treating corneal injury due to limbal stem cell deficiency after burns which can be found at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ta467

The National Institute of Health Research is currently supporting four clinical trials investigating the use of stem cells at Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.