Sharon Soan's family are all entering the Hastings Half Marathon

Sharon Soan, from Hastings in East Sussex, was diagnosed 11 years ago and is now paralysed from the neck down.

A mother of five, Ms Soan's entire family is to take part in the Hastings Half Marathon next month to start raising the �17,000 cost of treatment.

"I will do anything to get her this money," said sister Marissa Stepanek.

Caution advised

The operation carried out in the Rotterdam clinic, unavailable in the UK, involves taking cells from the umbilical cords of newborn babies and injecting them into a patient's body.

The treatment is so far clinically unproven but some MS sufferers claim to have had good results.

The Multiple Sclerosis Society said the potential of stem cell therapy is well recognised.

But it urged anyone considering treatment that has not been subjected to rigorous trials to proceed with great caution.

Ms Soan said she would go to great lengths to achieve any improvement.

"Anything has got to be worth a try. It's better than being like this, not being able to do anything," she said.