Facts & figures

Spinal cord injury affects approximately 20,000 Australians, with approximately 300 new cases each year (2008: 137 paraplegic and 136 quadriplegic new patients).  World-wide there are approximately three million spinal cord injury patients that suffer loss of motor function (movements of arms and legs), loss of autonomic function (control of bladder, bowel and sexual function) and secondary problems such as chronic ulcers and infections.

The mean age of injury is 19 years with five out of six being male patients.  With advances in medical care, patients now live for decades after injury but face a life of devastating disability.  The number of patients with chronic spinal cord injury (cSCI) (life expectancy decreases by approximately 10%) is relentlessly increasing.  The psychological cost to the patient is often devastating and the incidence of suicide amongst cSCI patient is five times higher than the general population.

The cost to the patient’s family is often overwhelming and the rate of marital break-up is reportedly up to 50%, significantly higher than that of the normal population.  

The cost to society is profound.  In Australia, (2008) health care costs for cSCI is approximately $2 billion or 2% of total healthcare expenditure. These costs are borne by State government (44%), individual (40.5%) and Federal Government (10.6%).  Lifetime costs are $5 million per case of paraplegia and $9.5 million per case of quadriplegia.

Despite this desolate situation, the application of funds to find a cure for spinal cord injury is minimal.  Australian Government grants for SCI research (total NHMRC research funding 2000-2008) represents 0.7% of the total research budget whereas, research on all cancers, which account for 5.8% of health care budget is funded to a level of 22.5% of the total federal research budget.  That is, on a pro-rata basis to total health care costs, research funding for SCI is one tenth of that spent on cancer research. Funding of research into SCI by major pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies is also minimal. 

A consequence of this deplorable situation is that patients suffering from chronic SCI have become the prey of stem cell tourism.  Patients are mortgaging their homes and spending their life savings to travel to dubious clinics to undergo untested and risky procedures which, at best, are experimental and at worst, dangerous. We must develop a solution for them here.

Here’s where you come in.

We need your help
to speed things along.

We need your support to continue to connect the world’s leading researchers and clinicians with spinal cord patients and their families to remove the barriers and find a solution today and not tomorrow.

That’s the
StepAhead Australia
challenge to you.