Imagine that shoulder joint damage could be repaired using the patient’s own tissues. Imagine further that the repair could be regenerative. What a difference that would make for patients. It would be, truly, life changing. Imagine that this kind of therapy is no longer a dream. Stem cell research has given medical treatment astonishing possibilities for restoration and repair of injuries and damage formerly considered irreparable at worst, and only partially achievable at best. Stem cells have a remarkable capacity to work with existing tissue to effect healing and regeneration. Doctors can draw a patient’s own stem cells from healthy tissue and introduce them to the damaged tissue. The stem cells then work to regenerate healthy tissue, thus repairing the damage. As technology develops, individuals can now store healthy stem cells for potential use later, either to treat a degenerative disease, or to repair future trauma. The possibilities are astonishing.