In January 2009, CNN reported that federal regulators have finally approved the first human trials using embryonic stem cell research. Researchers would finally able to do a stem cell study to test if cells are safe to use in spinal injury patients. The study’s primary goal was to see whether injecting stem cells to patients is safe. The tests were scheduled to begin in the summer of 2009.

However, before a single patient had been injected with stem cells, the FDA placed a hold on the stem cell study due to safety concerns. The company that plans to conduct the embryonic stem cell trials hopes to begin by the third quarter of 2010. Meanwhile, there have already been peer-reviewed evidence of stem cell success for spinal cord injury patients in the countries of Portugal, Australia, Ecuador, and Brazil.