In the UK, the physicians are trying to devise treatments for many diseases with the help of stem cell therapy.

A step forward in this direction is the latest stem cell trial on the patients who are suffering from osteoarthritis, which affects around eight million people in the country. This will be the first time that the trial is being conducted on patients.

The funds for the project will be provided by The Arthritis Research UK.

The stem cells will be grown in the laboratory and will be mixed with cartilage cells and then they will be inserted in the affected joints of the patients. Doctors are optimistic that the trial will be instrumental in discovering new alternatives to surgery.

The trial is expected to continue for a year, as the researchers will focus on 70 people starting from the end of this year.

The trial will be conducted at the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopedic Hospital in Oswestry, Shropshire.

The patient's cartilage cells and bone marrow cells will be taken out with the help of keyhole surgery. These cells will then be grown for a period of three weeks in the laboratory.

However, Professor of Orthopedic Research at Keele University, Sally Roberts, disclosed that even if the trial is successful, it will not be used for all the patients who suffer from osteoarthritis.