MACI grows cartilage from your own cells to repair knee damage. A biopsy takes healthy cartilage, labs expand the cells and grow a patch in a dish, then surgeons implant it to fill the hole. It's an alternative to cadaver grafts or full knee replacement.
I could either have a cadaver, I could have a knee replacement, or I could do what's called a MACI procedure. And so, they biopsied my good cartilage, they sent it to a lab, regrew a patch in a Petri dish, and then they went in and patched the hole in my cartilage.
Yep. So, do you remember what MACI stands for? I had to look it up. It's kind of a mouthful.
Matrix autochondroid something.
Matrix-induced autologous chondrocyte implantation. That's what it's called. So yeah, they basically take some of your own cartilage, regrow it, and then they put it right back in there.
