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Mesenchymal stem cell injections

Mixed evidenceUpdated November 1, 2026 · 8 sources · Written by the AumniVIDA team

What is mesenchymal stem cell injections?

Mesenchymal stem cells, also called mesenchymal stromal cells, are cells taken from bone marrow, fat or umbilical cord tissue that can calm inflammation and may support repair. Clinics inject them into joints or veins for pain, injury and aging. The FDA has approved one such product, for a rare transplant complication in children, and none for aging.

Listed here because well-known people have tried it on themselves. Trying something is not recommending it; each entry says whether the person tells others to do it.

Who has tried it

Tried by 4 people we can source: 2 kept, 2 testing.

Kept

Testing

What the evidence shows

Mixed evidence

For aging itself, the human evidence is one small trial. In 30 older adults with frailty, a single infusion of donor cells was safe, and the lower of two doses improved walking distance and some inflammation markers after six months, while the higher dose did not [1]. No larger trial has confirmed it.

For joints, results conflict. A 2025 meta-analysis of 8 randomized trials with 502 people found that knee injections of these cells eased pain and improved function more than control treatments [2]. Another 2025 meta-analysis found pain relief but no clear gain in knee function, and signs of publication bias [3]. The largest trial, with 480 people with knee osteoarthritis, found that bone marrow, fat and umbilical cord cell injections were no better than a steroid shot after a year, and none changed the joint on MRI [4].

It is unknown whether injected cells survive or rebuild tissue, which source and dose work best, and how long any effect lasts. Many US businesses market unapproved stem cell treatments directly to consumers [5], and the FDA has approved only one product of this type, for a rare condition in children [6].

Safety

  • The FDA has approved one mesenchymal stromal cell product, Ryoncil, for steroid-refractory acute graft-versus-host disease in children. No product of this type is approved for joints, pain, aging or the other conditions clinics advertise.
  • The FDA warns that stem cell and exosome products sold for orthopedic, neurological and other conditions are unapproved, often marketed with misleading claims, and that some may be unsafe.
  • Serious harm has followed clinic treatments: three people lost most or all of their sight after a clinic injected fat-derived cells into their eyes.
  • Risks include infection, inflammation at the injection site, immune reactions to donor cells and contaminated products made without oversight.
  • Treatment abroad or outside a clinical trial is often costly and leaves little recourse if something goes wrong.

Common questions

Did Bryan Johnson get stem cell injections?

Yes. In March 2024 he had a one-time injection of 300 million young donor bone-derived stem cells into his knees, hips and shoulders, with a follow-up MRI planned at 12 months. He has not published results.

Did Tony Robbins get stem cell treatment?

Yes. He had IV infusions of donor cells from placenta and umbilical cord for a torn rotator cuff, and says his shoulder and spine pain went away. His accounts do not say whether the cells were mesenchymal cells, and his result is a single personal report, not a trial.

Does Dave Asprey get stem cell injections?

Yes, repeatedly. Earlier treatments used cells from his own bone marrow and fat, injected into his joints. In March 2026 he had a protocol at a clinic in Costa Rica that delivers mesenchymal stem cells to the brain.

Did Ben Greenfield get stem cell injections?

Yes. He has had at least four full-body stem cell sessions at a clinic in Utah, starting with his own bone marrow, and has banked his own fat and marrow cells. Marrow and fat preparations like these contain mesenchymal cells alongside many other cell types.

Do stem cell injections work for knee arthritis?

The evidence is mixed. Meta-analyses find some pain relief [2] [3], but the largest trial found the injections no better than a steroid shot after a year [4].

Are stem cell injections FDA approved?

Only for narrow uses. Blood-forming stem cells from cord blood are approved for blood disorders [7], and one mesenchymal product is approved for a rare transplant complication in children [6]. Clinic injections for joints or aging are not approved.

Can stem cells reverse aging?

Not shown. One small trial in frail older adults found some gains in walking and inflammation markers at one dose [1]. No study has shown that stem cell injections slow aging or extend life.

Sources

  1. 1.Tompkins BA, DiFede DL, Khan A, et al. Allogeneic Mesenchymal Stem Cells Ameliorate Aging Frailty: A Phase II Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci, 2017. doi:10.1093/gerona/glx137
  2. 2.Cao M, Ou Z, Sheng R, et al. Efficacy and safety of mesenchymal stem cells in knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Stem Cell Res Ther, 2025. doi:10.1186/s13287-025-04252-2
  3. 3.Hohmann E, Keough N, Stokes D, et al. Adipose- and bone marrow-derived stromal cells reduce pain in patients with knee osteoarthritis but do not substantially improve knee functionality: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis. Eur J Orthop Surg Traumatol, 2025. doi:10.1007/s00590-025-04322-4
  4. 4.Mautner K, Gottschalk M, Boden SD, et al. Cell-based versus corticosteroid injections for knee pain in osteoarthritis: a randomized phase 3 trial. Nat Med, 2023. doi:10.1038/s41591-023-02632-w
  5. 5.Turner L, Knoepfler P. Selling Stem Cells in the USA: Assessing the Direct-to-Consumer Industry. Cell Stem Cell, 2016. doi:10.1016/j.stem.2016.06.007
  6. 6.U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FDA Approves First Mesenchymal Stromal Cell Therapy to Treat Steroid-refractory Acute Graft-versus-host Disease. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2024. Link
  7. 7.U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Consumer Alert on Regenerative Medicine Products Including Stem Cells and Exosomes. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2020. Link
  8. 8.Kuriyan AE, Albini TA, Townsend JH, et al. Vision Loss after Intravitreal Injection of Autologous "Stem Cells" for AMD. N Engl J Med, 2017. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1609583

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