Knee pain is a common problem that can have many causes, but one common reason is damage to the cartilage. Because cartilage doesn't have its own blood supply, it can't heal itself. When knee cartilage is damaged, treatment options are available, including a new method using a patient’s own cells to grow new cartilage. The new technique is called matrix-associated autologous chondrocyte implantation, or MACI.

On the Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Daniel Saris, an orthopedic surgeon at Mayo Clinic, discusses MACI, the regenerative medicine approach to treating knee cartilage damage.