A team of researchers at the University of Utah is recruiting people in a new clinical trial to treat ischemic and non-ischemic heart failure using patient’s own stem cells.

The one-year study will examine the safety of injecting Cardiac Repair Cells (CRC) and their ability to improve heart function.

Participants in the study will have their own bone marrow cells drawn, which will then be grown in a culture to expand the number of cells that will help the heart muscle and improve blood flow.

After two weeks, the patient’s stem cells will be injected directly into the left ventricle of the heart during a minimally invasive surgery developed by Amit N Patel, MD, national principal investigator for the trial and director of cardiovascular regenerative medicine at the University of Utah School of Medicine.

“This is the first trial of its kind in the United States, providing patients who have limited to no other options with a viable treatment,” said Patel,

“By using a patient’s own cells, we eliminate the concern of rejection and the need for potentially harmful immunosuppressive drugs. We hope these cells will help with new blood vessels and support the heart muscle in order to improve the heart’s function, thereby greatly improving the patient’s quality of life,” he added.