---
title: "What conditions can stem cell therapy treat?"
url: "https://worldwiki.io/q/what-conditions-can-stem-cell-therapy-treat"
type: "question"
language: "en"
intent: "informational"
entity: "Stem Cell Therapy"
topic: "Stem Cell Treatment"
published: "2026-09-18 06:21:20"
updated: "2026-10-08 09:18:06"
---

# What conditions can stem cell therapy treat?

## Short answer

Proven uses are mainly blood and immune system disorders. These are treated with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, which has been used for more than 50 years, mostly for lymphomas, myeloma and leukemias. Stem cells are also used in some skin and cornea grafts. Regulators have approved a few other products for narrow indications, such as limbal stem cell deficiency in the EU and ALS or knee osteoarthritis in South Korea. Other uses remain experimental.

## Answer

In 2016, lymphoproliferative disorders made up 53.0% of HSCTs worldwide and leukemias 35.7%.[3] The FDA states that regenerative products are not approved for conditions such as autism, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease or orthopedic conditions.[1]

### Stem cells in cosmetic surgery

In cosmetic surgery, "stem cell" procedures almost always use [adipose-derived stem cells](/entity/adipose-derived-stem-cell). The stromal vascular fraction (SVF), which contains them, is separated from liposuctioned fat and mixed into the fat being grafted, as in [stem cell breast augmentation](/entity/stem-cell-breast-augmentation) and [stem cell fat grafting](/entity/stem-cell-fat-grafting).

## Related questions

- [What are the risks of stem cell therapy?](https://worldwiki.io/q/what-are-the-risks-of-stem-cell-therapy)
- [How do I know if a stem cell clinic is legitimate?](https://worldwiki.io/q/how-do-i-know-if-a-stem-cell-clinic-is-legitimate)
- [What is stem cell therapy used for?](https://worldwiki.io/q/what-is-stem-cell-therapy-used-for)
- [What should I check before stem cell treatment in Korea?](https://worldwiki.io/q/what-should-i-check-before-stem-cell-treatment-in-korea)
- [Is stem cell therapy FDA approved?](https://worldwiki.io/q/is-stem-cell-therapy-fda-approved)
- [Is stem cell therapy legal in South Korea?](https://worldwiki.io/q/is-stem-cell-therapy-legal-in-south-korea)

## Sources

1. [Important Patient and Consumer Information About Regenerative Medicine Therapies](https://www.fda.gov/vaccines-blood-biologics/consumers-biologics/important-patient-and-consumer-information-about-regenerative-medicine-therapies) — U.S. Food and Drug Administration · evidence page: https://worldwiki.io/source/96
2. [Approved Cellular and Gene Therapy Products](https://www.fda.gov/vaccines-blood-biologics/cellular-gene-therapy-products/approved-cellular-and-gene-therapy-products) — U.S. Food and Drug Administration · evidence page: https://worldwiki.io/source/97
3. [One and a half million hematopoietic stem cell transplants: continuous and differential improvement in worldwide access with the use of non-identical family donors (Niederwieser D, et al., Haematologica 107(5):1045-1053)](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9052915/) — Haematologica · evidence page: https://worldwiki.io/source/98
4. [Stem Cell Resources for Patients](https://www.isscr.org/patients) — International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) · evidence page: https://worldwiki.io/source/99
5. [Graft-versus-host disease: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia](https://www.medlineplus.gov/ency/article/001309.htm) — U.S. National Library of Medicine (MedlinePlus) · evidence page: https://worldwiki.io/source/100
6. [Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapies Approved by Regulatory Agencies around the World (Fernández-Garza LE, et al., Pharmaceuticals 16(9):1334)](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10536665/) — Pharmaceuticals (MDPI) · evidence page: https://worldwiki.io/source/101
7. [Alofisel: EPAR](https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/medicines/human/EPAR/alofisel) — European Medicines Agency · evidence page: https://worldwiki.io/source/102
8. [FDA Approves Remestemcel-L-Rknd for Steroid-Refractory Acute Graft-Versus-Host Disease in Pediatric Patients](https://www.ons.org/publications-research/voice/news-views/12-2024/fda-approves-remestemcel-l-rknd-steroid-refractory) — Oncology Nursing Society · evidence page: https://worldwiki.io/source/103
9. [New legal category of 'advanced regenerative medicine treatment' in Korea's amended regenerative medicine law: comparative lessons from Japan (Yoon, Lee, Kim)](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13083794/) — Stem Cell Reports · evidence page: https://worldwiki.io/source/104
10. [Unproven stem cell therapy for macular degeneration (Ansari ZA, Kuriyan AE, Albini TA)](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5710873/) — Oncotarget · evidence page: https://worldwiki.io/source/105