There was a story on the news last week (link to article) regarding an older lady who nearly died during knee surgery.
What they ended up doing was separating some of her own stem cells from some surplus body fat (as the doctor said, "Unfortunately most of my patients have the fatty tissue to spare") and injecting them into her knee. They took x-rays weekly, and you can see the cartilage increasing week by week. After about 8 weeks she could put her cane away and move around with minimal discomfort.
Now, if you'll excuse me I have to go work on adding some 'stem cell carrying' surplus to this coat-tree of a body I've got....
What they ended up doing was separating some of her own stem cells from some surplus body fat (as the doctor said, "Unfortunately most of my patients have the fatty tissue to spare") and injecting them into her knee. They took x-rays weekly, and you can see the cartilage increasing week by week. After about 8 weeks she could put her cane away and move around with minimal discomfort.
Now, if you'll excuse me I have to go work on adding some 'stem cell carrying' surplus to this coat-tree of a body I've got....