Amniotic Tissue Allograft FAQs

What is amniotic tissue allograft?
  • Amniotic tissue is from part of the placenta called the amnion membrane.  Allograft means a tissue that is collected from one human and transplanted to another human.  
​Where is amniotic tissue harvested?
  • There are many hospitals affiliated with tissue transplant companies that partner together to harvest the amniotic tissue after a healthy baby has been born by C-section.
How is this tissue processed?
  • The harvested tissue is cleaned, test, and freeze for storage.  This qualifies as "minimally-manipulated" and thus doesn't meet FDA's definition of a drug.
What is amniotic tissue allograft used for?
  • This is used as regenerative medicine, also known as orthobiologics, to help stimulate the healing process.  This is used similarly to platelet rich plasma (PRP), bone marrow aspiration concentrate, and adipose cells.  This can be used for arthritis, tendinopathy (rotator cuff injury), and ligament injuries (ankle sprain).
Can this be rejected by your immune system?
  • When you think of transplants, typically you think of large organs, like liver or kidney, which do need immunosuppression to minimize rejection of the graft.  Fortunately, the placenta is a unique environment between the mother and the child that is naturally low in immune reactive cell markers.  This tissue has been used on thousands of patients and there has been no issues with rejection.  
What is in the tissue that helps it heal?
  • ​bFGF- basic fibroblast growth factor
  • EGF- epidermal growth factor
  • GCSF- granulocyte colony-stimulating factor
  • PDSF- platelet derived growth factor
  • PLGF- placental growth factor
  • TGF alpha- transforming growth factor alpha
  • TGF beta1- transforming growth factor beta 1
  • Interleukins 4, 6, 8, 10 (cytokine cell signaling molecule)
  • Tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP)- 1, 2, 4 (metalloproteinases breakdown tissue and are active in the degenerative arthritis process)
Are there stem cells in placental tissue?
  • Stem cells are found all throughout the body and are found in placental tissue.  The question is whether or not these cells remain alive and functional during the tissue processing and freezing.  There are many companies that have demonstrated viability of these stem cells after this freezing process.  Even if these stem cells are still functioning normally it is unclear if they are responsible for the healing process or if it is more of the healing/growth factors that play the primary role.
What company do we use?
  • We have used a few different companies and there are many out there.  Currently we use StemShot which not only includes amniotic tissue, but also cord tissue and cord blood.
How does it get from company to patient?
  • We have the transplant tissue shipped to our clinic overnight on dry ice.  This is then thawed immediately before injection.
Is StemShot something that would benefit you?
  • To get more personalized information about this procedure for your painful condition call our office and schedule an appointment with our regenerative stem cell expert to discuss the option of these procedures.  These appointments are informative and low stress.  This is an important decision and we make sure our patients are confident and comfortable with the decision making process.
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