Many people are very confused by stem cell treatments. There is a lot of controversy about stem cell therapies, mainly due to the methods of harvest. There are some legal and ethical ways to harvest stem cells for use in regenerative orthopedics and other stem cell therapies. To better understand how stem cells are used in orthopedics, it is important to understand where the stem cells come from.
Unethical or Illegal Stem Cells
One of the biggest arguments against stem cell therapy is the belief that all stem cells come from undeveloped fetuses. While this is one way to harvest stem cells, and these are the most pure stem cells, it is currently not an accepted practice. In fact, none of the stem cell therapies on the market today use these types of stem cells. You do not need to worry about the moral implications of the treatments.
Umbilical Cord Blood Stem Cells
Another common way to harvest stem cells is from umbilical cord blood. This is much easier for doctors and researchers to obtain because mothers often donate their umbilical cord for such research and procedures. These stem cells are being used more and more often in research and clinical trials, but regenerative orthopedics usually doesn’t use these sources.
Harvesting from Patient
For regenerative orthopedics, the generally accepted method is to harvest stem cells directly from the patient. Your body contains many stem cells in bone and other tissues. Stem cells are often taken from the hip, although they can also be taken from fat. These stem cells are processed and programmed to promote the healing necessary for the orthopedic ailment.
If you are interested in trying stem cell therapies for your orthopedic treatment, contact us today for more information or to schedule an appointment.