Updated August 2026. This post was first published in 2017. The discussion has been rewritten and current price ranges added.
I recently saw two patients for evaluation for possible orthobiologic treatment of painful knee arthritis. Both were on medication, had received multiple steroid injections in the knee, and one had even had a “gel” injection sold under a name like Synvisc or Hyalgan. One had been prescribed an unloader brace and didn’t want to wear it any longer.
Both had already been evaluated somewhere else first. One clinic used cells taken from the patient’s own bone marrow. The other recommended umbilical cord blood or amniotic fluid.
The amounts the two patients were quoted were nothing like each other. That difference is the part worth understanding.
Why the cost varies so much
These procedures are typically not covered by insurance companies. When insurance is not setting the amount, every clinic sets its own, and there is no published standard to measure it against. Two clinics a few miles apart can quote very different amounts for what sounds to a patient like the same treatment.
Not everything sold as a “stem cell” injection contains living cells
This part matters more than the money. There is currently no FDA-approved amniotic fluid or umbilical cord blood product sold in the United States that contains living stem cells. So when a clinic sells one of those products as a living stem cell injection, the patient is not getting what they think they are paying for. You can set those clinics aside entirely, whatever they charge.
That leaves the clinics using living cells from your own body, from bone marrow or fat. That is a much smaller group, and it is the group worth comparing.
What actually drives the cost
Which joint is treated, how many areas are treated in one visit, whether the plan uses PRP or bone marrow concentrate (BMAC), and how carefully that material is prepared and measured all change what a procedure costs. That is why a single number posted on a website would mislead more than it helps. Paying more does not automatically mean a better preparation, and paying less does not automatically mean a worse one, but the differences are real and they are worth asking about.
I teach these techniques to other physicians twice a year, and the range across the country is wide.
Who is making the recommendation matters too
Dr. Buford is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon. That means the plan you leave with can be an orthobiologic injection, surgery, or both, whichever genuinely fits the problem. A clinic that cannot offer surgery has only one thing it can recommend, and that is worth remembering when you compare what two places tell you.
Common questions
- How much does a stem cell injection for one knee cost?
- For one knee at Texas Orthobiologics, an injection into the joint space alone runs $3,500 to $8,000. Adding an intra-osseous injection, which places cells into the bone beneath the worn cartilage as well as into the joint, runs $6,000 to $12,000. Which preparation is used and how much material is needed set the position within each range. These are ranges, not a quote.
- Does a cheaper quote mean a worse preparation?
- Not automatically, and paying more does not automatically mean better. The differences between preparations are real and worth asking about directly: what the source material is, how it is concentrated, and whether anyone measures what was actually delivered. Dr. Buford teaches these techniques to other physicians twice a year, and the range across the country is wide.
- Am I paying for living stem cells?
- Not if the product is amniotic fluid or umbilical cord blood or Wharton's Jelly. There is currently no FDA-approved amniotic fluid or umbilical cord blood product sold in the United States that contains living stem cells. A clinic selling one of those as a living stem cell injection is not delivering what the patient believes they are buying, whatever it costs. That leaves clinics using living cells from your own bone marrow or fat.
How we do it
At Texas Orthobiologics we educate first and recommend a procedure only when it makes sense for that patient. Sometimes that means surgery is still the better answer, with an orthobiologic injection added to it.
After developing a personalized plan with Dr. Buford, patients will understand the potential risks and benefits and their investment. Patients can then choose to make an investment in these orthobiologic solutions, knowing what is involved rather than working from a number quoted over the phone.
Most of our procedures are done in the office under ultrasound guidance and take less than an hour.
To talk through your own situation, request an appointment or call (877) 777-8883.
Below is a link to an actual stem cell procedure….the patient is awake and talking during the procedure!
Don Buford, MD is a board certified orthopedic surgeon. That matters here because the same physician who can offer you an orthobiologic injection can also tell you honestly when an injection is not the right answer and an operation is. A clinic that cannot perform the surgery has no way to make that comparison.
