Stem Cell Therapy: How It Works, Potential Benefits, and the Future of Regenerative Medicine

Stem cells can renew themselves and, depending on their type, develop into specialized cells. Blood-forming stem cells in bone marrow, for example, produce red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets.

Adult stem cells help maintain and repair the tissues where they live.

Hematopoietic (blood-forming) stem cells are used in established transplants for certain blood and bone marrow conditions.

Mesenchymal stromal cells are widely studied for their signaling effects on surrounding tissue.

Embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells can become many cell types and are mainly used in research.

Blood-forming stem cell transplants are an established medical treatment. Other uses, including joint health, neurological, heart, metabolic and skin research, are still being studied in clinical trials.

Researchers are also studying how stem cell function changes with age. That research does not show that stem cell treatments can reverse aging.

Stem cells are living cells. Exosomes are tiny particles cells release to send signals, and they contain no living cells. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is made from your own blood and concentrates platelets and growth factors.

These three are biologically different and have different levels of scientific evidence.

Stem cell science is promising, but each use must be judged on its own evidence. Some treatments are established; many remain under investigation.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Consumer alert on regenerative medicine products including stem cells and exosomes. National Institutes of Health. Stem cell basics. International Society for Stem Cell Research. The ISSCR guide to stem cell treatments (2024).