Cells are aspirated from the bone marrow. The cell suspension consists of a heterogeneous cell population that includes hematopoietic, mesenchymal, and other progenitor cells as well as mononuclear cells.
Bone marrow (50 ml) was aspirated from the iliac crest into heparin-treated syringes and enriched by density gradient centrifugation and several washing steps. Cells were resuspended in X-VIVO 10 medium (a serum-free medium containing pharmaceutical-grade human components) supplemented with 2 mL of the patient's own serum.