Dr James Wickham, lecturer in anatomy and physiology at the Charles Sturt University (CSU) School of Biomedical Sciences, is a lead investigator in the project.

Dr Wickham said potential benefits included increased functionality and pain reduction for people with knee osteoarthritis, cartilage regrowth and halting the disease’s progression.

“Initial unpublished results indicate that participants will substantially benefit in terms of reduced pain and increased mobility,” he said.

“Recent publications have highlighted the ability of stem cells to regrow cartilage in human subjects.

“It is anticipated that stem cell therapy will have disease modifying properties and hence possibly prevent later requirement for joint replacement surgery.”

He also said a donor stem cell clinical trial for knee osteoarthritis would start in May after gaining approval from CSU’s Human Research Ethics committee.

The research is being undertaken with Associate Professor Julien Freitag, the clinical director at the Melbourne Stem Cell Centre.