 Of the estimated 11,000 cases of acute spinal cord injury SCI which occur each year in North America, 5 involve children. The injury is divided into the primary mechanical event which causes the injury, and the secondary events which follow. Outcome for SCI depends of the severity of the primary injury complete vs. incomplete and the spinal cord level of the injury. Current therapy is designed only to minimize the secondary events of SCI and other trauma-associated injuries. Because the current therapy does nothing to reverse the primary insult, significant advances in reducing the disability associated with SCI are unlikely. Recent basic science and animal studies suggest that stem cell treatment can foster functional improvement after SCI by helping repair the primary injury and reducing the secondary injury. 