Stem Cell Therapy for Dogs: How We Harvest and Use Regenerative Cells to Heal Joints

At Red Sage Integrative Veterinary Partners, we’re proud to offer cutting-edge regenerative therapies that help your pet heal from within— and one of the most powerful tools we use is stem cell therapy. In this post, we’ll walk you through how we harvest stem cells, what the process looks like, and why this approach can provide long-term healing and relief for pets with joint disease or soft tissue injury.

---

What Are Stem Cells and Why Do They Matter?

Stem cells are the body’s raw healing materials; special cells that can develop into many different types of tissue, from cartilage and muscle to bone and connective tissue. In veterinary medicine, we use mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which are especially effective in modulating inflammation, stimulating tissue regeneration, and repairing damaged structures in joints, tendons, and ligaments.

---

How We Harvest Stem Cells

We harvest your pet’s stem cells through a quick and minimally invasive procedure. Under sedation, we use a Jamshidi needle to collect a small sample of bone marrow from the ilium (the back part of the pelvis). This site is ideal because it’s rich in stem cells and easy to access safely.

The bone marrow sample is then sent to a local laboratory here in town, where specialized technicians culture and expand the stem cells. This means they isolate the regenerative cells, grow them under controlled conditions, and prepare them for use in future treatments.

💡 Good to know: From a single harvest, we typically obtain enough stem cells for up to 10 separate treatment doses-- giving us a flexible and efficient way to treat current and future issues as they arise. And we can draw more blood for a second expansion in many cases, which doubles the cells available.

---

Immediate Relief at Time of Harvest

While stem cells take time to grow and be ready for use, we don’t want your pet to wait for comfort. That’s why we often combine the harvest procedure with a therapeutic injection, such as:

• PRP (Platelet-Rich Plasma): to reduce inflammation and start regeneration

• Hydrogels (like Spryng or Arthramid): to cushion the joint and ease discomfort

This way, we maximize the value of a single sedation— helping your pet get relief now while preparing for long-term healing.

---

A Long-Term Investment in Your Pet’s Health

Stem cell therapy is one of the most promising regenerative tools available in veterinary medicine today. It’s natural, personalized, and offers the potential to slow disease progression, reduce the need for medications, and restore function and comfort in a way few other treatments can.

Whether your pet is an athlete with a soft tissue injury or a senior dog struggling with joint pain, stem cell therapy could offer a new path forward— and we’re here to guide you every step of the way.