Healing of cartilage injury can be natural if autologous cells are implanted like a patch. This treatment of cartilage damage is called autologous chondrocyte transplantation. Recently, Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering Center of Zhejiang University has taken the lead to apply this technology to clinical practice in 5 hospitals including the Second Affiliated Hospital and Run Run-Shaw Hospital.
Due to the lack of blood supply, cartilage tissues will not heal by themselves once damaged. The rate of osteoarthritis in China is 3%, and about 10 million new patients suffer cartilage injury every year. Current clinical practice of joint cavity flushing and bone marrow stimulation are treatments with remarkable effect; only that effect cannot last longer than 2 years. Another approach is to take cartilage from patients for autologous transplantation which only applies to small wounds. Most patients suffering great pain will turn to artificial joint replacement whose life is 12 years on average.
Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering Center located in Zijingang Campus has a Lab of Medical Cell Culture. Autologous chondrocyte transplantation starts with a minimally invasive surgery, extracting about 0.2 g cartilage cells from patients to send to cell culture lab. Two weeks later, these cartilage cells will grow into tens of millions of cells which are of the same properties and performance with cartilage cells and are thus suitable for surgical implantation into the injury site to grow with surrounding tissue. Patients can be discharged generally in about 10 days and will be able to walk in 6 weeks with complete recovery expected in 3 months.Director of the Center Dr. Ouyang Hongwei said this technology can block the lesion and make rapid recovery possible with minimum trauma. His team has been working on the major project “Cartilage Tissue Research and Clinical Application” since 2006.