# The clinic may collect blood or marrow *What Is Collected | Stem Cell Clinic Glendale* > Stem cell clinic Glendale information about blood, concentrated PRP, marrow, how each is prepared, and questions to ask before care. ## A throbbing knee can make any choice feel urgent Your knee may ache long after you sit. A new treatment can then sound worth trying. First, ask what the clinic will collect. The answer must name blood, marrow, or both. Biologic therapies use blood or marrow taken from you. The clinic concentrates the blood or marrow during your visit. The two sources aren't the same. You need to know which one is planned. ## Concentrated PRP starts with blood from your arm PRP stands for platelet-rich plasma. After spinning, it's pale blood liquid with extra clotting pieces called platelets. The clinic spins the blood tube in a machine. Spinning separates the blood into different parts. Ask which blood part will enter your joint. Don't accept a broad treatment name alone. Ask for a study of that same blood preparation. The study must also concern your sore joint. More spinning or extra steps don't promise better relief. The clinic's answer must say what isn't known. ## Marrow comes from the back of your pelvis The clinic numbs the skin and deeper area. A needle then draws marrow from the bone. You may still feel pressure during the draw. The needle spot can remain sore afterward. Marrow holds many kinds of blood cells. It isn't a clean tube of one cell kind. The clinic may count all cells in the marrow. That total can't tell how much relief you'll get. Ask whether the clinic spins the marrow. Ask which concentrated part will enter your joint. ## Your written notes should name blood or marrow Write down whether blood or marrow will be used. Also note which joint will receive the concentrated part. Ask about short-term soreness and bruising. You'll want urgent warning signs in writing too. A treatment name can't predict your result. Ask what happened when people with your joint tried it. Read the clinic's notes at home before deciding. Circle any words you still don't understand. ## Sources 1. In 96 patients, concentrated bone marrow aspirate contained a mean of 26.3 million nucleated cells per mL but only about 1,422 colony-forming units of connective tissue progenitors, and the nucleated cell count had negligible predictive value for how many progenitor cells were actually present (r-squared 0.28). Muench LN, et al. — [Nucleated Cell Count Has Negligible Predictive Value for the Number of Colony-Forming Units for Connective Tissue Progenitor Cells (Stem Cells) in Bone Marrow Aspirate Harvested From the Proximal Humerus During Arthroscopic Rotator Cuff Repair](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33581306/). *Arthroscopy*, 2021. DOI: 10.1016/j.arthro.2021.01.064. 2. Mesenchymal stromal cells make up only about 0.001 to 0.01 percent of the nucleated cells in bone marrow, so the harvesting and processing technique - aspiration site, syringe size, centrifuge speed and time - materially determines what ends up in the syringe, and no consensus protocol exists. Jeyaraman M, et al. — [Impact of the Process Variables on the Yield of Mesenchymal Stromal Cells from Bone Marrow Aspirate Concentrate](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35200410/). *Bioengineering (Basel)*, 2022. DOI: 10.3390/bioengineering9020057. 3. The International Society for Cell & Gene Therapy position statement holds that the acronym MSC should mean mesenchymal STROMAL cells and should only be called stem cells where rigorous in vitro and in vivo evidence of stemness exists for that specific preparation. Viswanathan S, et al. — [Mesenchymal stem versus stromal cells: International Society for Cell & Gene Therapy (ISCT®) Mesenchymal Stromal Cell committee position statement on nomenclature](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31526643/). *Cytotherapy*, 2019. DOI: 10.1016/j.jcyt.2019.08.002. 4. 21 CFR 1271.10(a) sets the four criteria a human cell or tissue product must meet to be regulated SOLELY under section 361 of the Public Health Service Act: it must be minimally manipulated; intended for homologous use only, as reflected by labeling and advertising; not combined with another article beyond water, crystalloids or a preserving agent; and either have no systemic effect and not depend on the metabolic activity of living cells, or else be for autologous use, use in a close blood relative, or reproductive use. US Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21 — [21 CFR 1271.10 - Are my HCT/P's regulated solely under section 361 of the PHS Act](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-L/part-1271/subpart-A/section-1271.10). *null*, 2004. 5. FDA states in its consumer alert that the only FDA-approved stem cell products in the United States are blood-forming stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood, approved for disorders of the blood-forming system, and that NONE of these products - stem cells, stromal vascular fraction, umbilical cord blood, Wharton's jelly or amniotic fluid - has been approved for the treatment of any orthopedic condition, including osteoarthritis, tendonitis, disc disease, tennis elbow, back pain, hip pain, knee pain, neck pain or shoulder pain. US Food and Drug Administration, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research — [Consumer Alert on Regenerative Medicine Products Including Stem Cells and Exosomes](https://www.fda.gov/vaccines-blood-biologics/consumers-biologics/consumer-alert-regenerative-medicine-products-including-stem-cells-and-exosomes). *null*, 2020. 6. A randomized trial comparing commercially available systems in 71 patients found microfragmented adipose tissue equivalent to leukocyte-rich PRP on KOOS pain at 12 months. Baria M, et al. — [Microfragmented Adipose Tissue Is Equivalent to Platelet-Rich Plasma for Knee Osteoarthritis at 12 Months Posttreatment: A Randomized Controlled Trial](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38510323/). *Orthop J Sports Med*, 2024. DOI: 10.1177/23259671241233916. 7. In a randomized trial of 118 knee osteoarthritis patients followed for 2 years with serial MRI, a single microfragmented adipose tissue injection and a single PRP injection produced statistically and clinically similar improvement - and the imaging showed no structural advantage for either. Zaffagnini S, et al. — [Microfragmented Adipose Tissue Versus Platelet-Rich Plasma for the Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis: A Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial at 2-Year Follow-up](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35984721/). *Am J Sports Med*, 2022. DOI: 10.1177/03635465221115821. ## A clinic visit can clarify your options QC Kinetix medical providers—clinic staff who examine you—can discuss regenerative treatments prepared from your blood. Book an appointment: --- Straight answers for a sore joint Clear help for joint aches, safe home steps, signs needing prompt care, and nearby non-surgical choices. Plain facts about joint soreness, home care, clinic visits, and local options for Glendale readers. This site is operated by the owners of QC Kinetix clinics in the Phoenix area, including the Peoria and Banner Estrella locations referenced here. Copyright 2026 The Glendale Procedure Journal. General health education, not medical advice for an individual diagnosis or emergency.