In March 1988 Professor Edward Hitchcock performed the first British foetal brain implant. This operation takes brain cells from a foetus and implants them into the brain of someone suffering from Parkinson's Disease. Although still at the experimental stage this operation offers new hope for the 120,000 Parkinson's sufferers in Britain. Fred Roberts and Cyril Hayes are Professor Hitchcock's newest patients. Barbara Myers follows them through the weeks leading up to the operation and after, to discover if this really is the miracle Fred and Cyril are hoping for.
Producer SARAH ROWLANDS BBC Pebble Mill
and at 9.50 Geoff Watts chairs a phone-in on the moral and ethical issues involved. Discussing your calls are Dr Raanan Gillon, Editor of the Journal of Medical Ethics, and former neurosurgeon Sam Galbraith, MP. Phone [number removed]
Producer NICK UTECHIN Lines open from 9.00am