My mother was just days away from needing knee replacement surgery before a miracle therapy saved her ability to walk pain-free.
Jennifer, now 68 years old, hadn’t walked without pain in years. Having worked for 27 years with both the NYPD and federal government, the wear and tear of being a first responder left her with rapidly deteriorating cartilage in retirement.
‘It was painful. It started getting worse and worse. I had to crawl up the stairs to my home,’ my mother described about her daily struggles living in an aging walk-up apartment building in Manhattan.
We’d tried everything to reduce the pain using conventional medicine, including physical therapy, painkillers, and even steroids, but nothing worked for very long.
Then, during a routine checkup, my mother was told about a therapy using stem cells and referred to a doctor licensed to perform this form of regenerative medicine.
Stem cells are the most basic cell with the ability to become any kind of specialized cell. When these ‘blank’ cells are injected into a damaged area of the body, they can recognize cells that are in trouble and bind to them – becoming a healthy copy and replacement for that injured cell.
Despite being more affordable than some out-of-pocket surgeries, stem cell therapy can still cost between $1,500 and $8,000 per injection – which is not covered by insurance.
That’s because the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has refused to approve several stem cell-related therapies, citing rare instances where these experimental alternatives to surgery led to infections or tumors.
Chronic knee pain forced my once active mother (seen left in the 1990s) to stay relatively immobile, as even daily trips to the grocery store left her having to crawl up the stairs in her home
‘It’s only been four months. My right knee is back to normal and my left knee is on the road to recovery!’ my mother revealed after undergoing the therapy.
While regenerative therapy is a treatment that you’d think would be offered before surgery, my mother discovered that it’s essentially hidden away from many patients and doctors are actually discouraged from talking about it.
‘I don’t understand why it’s not on the market. You could save people so much money. You won’t have to go through surgery,’ she told the Daily Mail.
Now, she’s asking the FDA and new health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr to take the handcuffs off of stem cell treatments so others can benefit as well.
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), 25 percent of US adults suffer regular knee pain that limits their mobility. That’s approximately 61 million people.
A 2016 study estimated that 14 million Americans have knee osteoarthritis, with those in the most advanced stages of the disease being prime candidates for total knee replacement surgery.
The 2022 American Joint Replacement Registry found that there are about 800,000 total knee replacements carried out annually in the US.
In my mother’s case, decades of hard work juggling a career in law enforcement and raising a son on her own had taken its toll on her body.
A single mom and federal officer during the 1990s, Jennifer went on spend 20 years as an officer in the NYPD, starting in 2000.
Jennifer, now 68 years-old, hadn’t walked without pain in years. A referral to a doctor who performed stem cell regenerative therapy gave her back her mobility
Jennifer (seen to the right in 2001) spent 27 years wearing heavy first responder gear which eventually led to severe knee problems. In 2025, she underwent stem cell regenerative therapy which reversed much of the damage she endured
That work included being a first responder during the September 11 terror attacks and searching through the rubble of Ground Zero for weeks after the attack – duties that have left her and thousands of other first responders with life-long health issues.
It didn’t help that police officers regularly carry a load of heavy equipment at all times while out on patrol, which eventually led to knee, leg, back, and foot injuries.
‘I wore the same gun belt in both agencies. Forty pounds, every single day,’ she explained.
After retiring, those knee issues continued to intensify, with doctors revealing that the cartilage around each bone in her knees was becoming almost nonexistent.
‘It got to the point where I was limping and walking with a cane to my regular doctor,’ Jennifer explained.
‘He saw I was in pain so he recommended another doctor that he knew, a colleague who does stem cells to replace the cartilage that I was losing in my knees,’ she explained.
An hour’s drive out of New York City to Dr Mack Lee Sullivan’s practice revealed how bad the damage had gotten.
Stem cells can be guided to turn into many different cell types, which makes them a powerful tool for regenerative medicine
Bone-on-bone contact from lack of cartilage, a torn meniscus, and fluid building up in both knees was leading to debilitating pain by February 2025.
Once the specific problem areas were located, Jennifer received a set of injections in each knee, to both eliminate the fluid and deliver stem cells into the damaged areas.
As a member of Daily Mail’s science team, I’ve covered the topic of stem cells and their miracle-like impact on health, so we were naturally optimistic that the procedure could help my mother avoid surgery.
One treatment with stem cells in the right knee produced almost instantaneous results. Her flexibility and range of motion improved within days of taking the injection.
My mother’s left knee would require more work. Due to the tear in the meniscus and fluid interfering with the first stem cell injection, a second shot was needed to kickstart the regeneration process.
‘The fluid is almost gone and the cartilage is starting to show in the ultrasounds, and I saved myself a knee surgery,’ Jennifer noted. ‘Feels like it’s almost back to normal. This is as good as it’s felt in a long time.’
Since tissue-based regenerative therapies like this stem cell procedure still aren’t approved by the FDA, Jennifer’s physician told her he cannot advertise the benefits of this therapy publicly.
In fact, it was only through word of mouth that she was able to find anyone capable of performing regenerative therapies in the New York area.
Most stem cell-based regenerative treatments are still considered experimental by the FDA, forcing them into clinical trials to evaluate safety and efficacy.
The agency tightly regulates these procedures, requiring Investigational New Drug (IND) applications for clinical studies.
Although doctors can still carry out tissue-based therapies without federal approval, the FDA has issued warning letters to clinics for advertising unapproved stem cell therapies, citing violations like promoting products without IND approval or making unproved medical claims.
Professional athletes have been at the forefront of trying regenerative medicine, especially stem cell therapy.
Golfer Tiger Woods, NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and Olympic Swimmer Dara Torres are just some of the athletes who’ve undergone stem cell therapy to help recover from injuries and extend their careers.
Stem cell advocacy groups have continued to petition the FDA to change their stance on regenerative medicine and approve more of these procedures. However, the health agency has actively fought against the approval of these treatments.
Patients and groups associated with the Right to Try movement have pushed for access to non-FDA-approved stem cell therapies for tissue regeneration, especially for chronic conditions like osteoarthritis or spinal cord injuries.
The Right to Try Act, passed in 2018, allows terminally ill patients to access experimental treatments, but some groups have extended this argument to regenerative stem cell therapies.
Despite growing public pressure, the FDA has continued to put up roadblocks for certain therapies in spite of the Right to Try Act.
In 2019, the FDA won a federal case against US Stem Cell, Inc, after documenting rare instances where patients were injured during stem cell treatments, including three cases that led to blindness from unapproved retinal treatments.
The case further reinforced the FDA’s jurisdiction over stem cell therapies, forcing more therapies for regenerative purposes to receive premarket approval before doctors can treat patients.
‘It’s not right or fair! I couldn’t find one doctor or hospital in New York City who would offer this alternative to patients,’ Jennifer declared.
Not approving stem cell therapy also means insurance companies won’t cover the treatments, meaning anyone looking to avoid surgery has to pay for each injection out of their own pocket – even a senior citizen on Medicare.
Still, my mother revealed that receiving stem cells was ‘worth every penny.’
‘It saved me from two needless surgeries, but my doctor is not allowed to call it stem cell therapy or even say a word about it because he was threatened by the FDA that he could lose his license if he did,’ Jennifer claimed.
Over 1.5 million Americans had hip or knee replacement surgery in 2020; surgeries that may have been avoided if patients knew that there were other options available.
Although the vast majority of knee replacements are successful, this is not a permanent fix.
The implants typically last for 15 to 20 years, but mechanical issues and general wear and tear can require patients to replace their artificial knee much sooner.
A full recovery following surgery can take six months to a year and requires intensive physical therapy and lifestyle adjustments, which can be challenging for active individuals or those living alone.
The cost of undergoing a knee replacement can also be unaffordable for many, depending on their health insurance.
Policies which cover the procedure can limit the out-of-pocket expense to between $500 and $10,000.
For those without insurance or whose insurance won’t cover the bill, patients undergoing knee replacement surgery could owe the hospital between $20,000 and $35,000.
Knee replacement implants typically last for 15 to 20 years, but mechanical issues and general wear and tear can require patients to replace their artificial knee much sooner
Jennifer is now adding her voice to the cause of getting the FDA to approve more stem cell-related treatments.
She’s pleading for RFK Jr to step in and examine the agency’s hard line on regenerative medicine, adding that keeping stem cell therapy off the market is only benefiting healthcare providers who specialize in orthopedic surgery.
‘It seems more like a benefit to line all the doctor’s pockets than promote better care for the public,’ she claimed.
‘This is not Star Trek medicine. This is real life medicine. I hope Secretary Kennedy will look into this practice and allow doctors who have better and newer ways to treat patients to practice their skills more openly,’ the 68-year-old continued.
Although the FDA operates as a semi-independent agency within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), RFK Jr can influence the approval of new treatments through changes in policy, oversight, and prioritization.
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .