• Question: How long does it take to grow enough cells to, for example, fix a small injury in someone's spine?

    Asked by anyadouras to Alex on 16 Jun 2014.
    • Photo: Alex Lyness

      Alex Lyness answered on 16 Jun 2014:

      Hey anyadouras,

      Thanks for your question. Cells can grow really quickly. It depends on what the type of injury is. At the moment I’ve been working to repair intervertebral disc (the squidgey bits in the spine between the vertebra that allows movement and absorbs impact).

      For this we use mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and if we could get the treatment to work it would only take a few days to grow the few million cells that we would need. They would then be suspended in a jelly like substance (hydrogel) and injected in.

      The tricky bit is making sure they are not contaminated, all still alive and are delivered to the precisely to the right place to give the human body the best chance of repairing the injury itself.

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