Anemia and Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSC): what the trial registry contains
The ClinicalTrials.gov registry holds 10 records for MSC in Anemia: 0 recruiting now, 1 labelled Phase 3 or 4, across 3 countries. Snapshot 2026-08-29.
Why this is studied in Anemia
Under 'anaemia' the registry mostly holds aplastic anaemia and marrow-failure syndromes, where haematopoietic transplantation is not experimental at all — it is standard care with decades of protocol refinement. Mesenchymal cells appear alongside it as a graft-support and graft-versus-host-disease adjunct, which is a different and much less settled question.
What MSC means in this table
Mesenchymal stromal cells are the workhorse of commercial cell therapy: easy to source from fat, cord or marrow, easy to expand, and rarely characterised in the same way twice. Their proposed action is paracrine — signalling molecules that damp inflammation — rather than replacement of lost tissue. That matters when reading counts like these, because two studies filed under the same label can test materially different products at different doses by different routes.
The numbers
Every figure below comes from one reproducible query (aplastic anemia x mesenchymal stem cell) run against ClinicalTrials.gov API v2 on 2026-08-29.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Registered studies (all statuses) | 10 |
| Interventional studies in the sample | 10 |
| Recruiting right now | 0 |
| Completed | 1 |
| Terminated, withdrawn or suspended | 1 |
| Phase 3 or Phase 4 records | 1 |
| Countries with at least one site | 3 |
| Median planned enrolment | 25 participants |
| Largest single planned enrolment | 100 participants |
| First / most recent start year | 2010 — 2026 |
How mature is this evidence?
A small later-stage tail exists (1 of 10 records at Phase 3 or 4); the centre of gravity is still Phase 1 and 2 work sized for safety rather than proof of benefit.
Completion status: 1 completed, 1 stopped early (10% of all records). A registration is a plan, not a result.
| Phase label | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Phase 2 | 7 | 47% |
| Phase 1 | 6 | 40% |
| Not applicable | 1 | 7% |
| Phase 4 | 1 | 7% |
Median planned enrolment is 25 participants (largest single study: 100). Trials of this size can describe safety and generate hypotheses; detecting a modest clinical benefit reliably usually needs substantially larger numbers with a control group.
Where the studies are
The work is distributed across 3 countries; China alone accounts for about 80% of mentions, so 'internationally researched' can still mean concentrated in a few regulatory environments.
| Country | Studies with a site there |
|---|---|
| China | 8 |
| Brazil | 1 |
| Russia | 1 |
Legal pathway differs by country — see where cell therapy is legal, by country.
Who runs them
Funding profile: 7 academic or hospital sponsors against 0 commercial ones — academic overall, which is worth knowing before reading any single positive report.
- Guangzhou General Hospital of Guangzhou Military Command — 2 records
- Chinese PLA General Hospital — 1 record
- University of Sao Paulo — 1 record
- Navy General Hospital, Beijing — 1 record
- Shenzhen Geno-Immune Medical Institute — 1 record
- Hebei Medical University — 1 record
Representative registered studies
Recruiting studies first, then the most advanced phases. Each identifier links to the registry record, where eligibility criteria, outcome measures and contacts are published.
| Study | Phase | Status | Planned n | Lead sponsor | Start |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCT02218437 — Treatment Protocol of Child SAA With the Injection of Mesenchymal Stem Cells（Umbilical Cord Derived） | Phase 4 | Unknown | 20 | Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences | 2013-10 |
| NCT07299123 — Phase I Clinical Study of Haplo-HSCT Combined With Hypoxic 3D-Cultured Umbilical Cord MSC for the Treatment of SAA | Phase 1, Phase 2 | Enrolling By Invitation | 40 | Chinese PLA General Hospital | 2022-08-01 |
| NCT02407470 — Safety and Efficacy of Patient's Own AD-MSC and AD-HSC Transplantation in Patients With Severe Aplastic Anemia | Phase 1, Phase 2 | Unknown | 90 | Navy General Hospital, Beijing | 2015-01 |
| NCT02145923 — Effectiveness and Safety of MMSCs for Enhancing Hematopoietic Recovery and Prophylaxis of Neutropenic Enterocolitis | Phase 1, Phase 2 | Unknown | 16 | Burnasyan Federal Medical Biophysical Center | 2014-05 |
| NCT02247973 — Mesenchymal Stem Cells Co-transplantation in Alternative Donor Transplantation of Severe Aplastic Anemia. | Phase 2 | Unknown | 100 | Guangzhou General Hospital of Guangzhou Military Command | 2013-02 |
| NCT01297972 — Mesenchymal Stem Cells in the Treatment of Relapsed/Refractory Severe Acquired Aplastic Anemia | Phase 1, Phase 2 | Completed | 9 | University of Sao Paulo | 2011-02 |
| NCT01305694 — Mesenchymal Stem Cells Transplantation to Patients With Relapsed/Refractory Aplastic Anemia. | Phase 1, Phase 2 | Unknown | 50 | Guangzhou General Hospital of Guangzhou Military Command | 2011-02 |
| NCT01182662 — Safety and Efficacy Study of Umbilical Cord/Placenta-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells to Treat Severe Aplastic Anemia | Phase 2 | Unknown | 30 | Shandong University | 2010-08 |
| NCT03055078 — Umbilical Cord Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Therapy in Aplastic Anemia | Phase 1 | Unknown | 10 | Hebei Medical University | 2017-01 |
| NCT03351868 — FANCA Gene Transfer for Fanconi Anemia Using a High-safety, High-efficiency, Self-inactivating Lentiviral Vector | n/a | Terminated | 10 | Shenzhen Geno-Immune Medical Institute | 2026-06-01 |
What this page does and does not tell you
These figures describe effort, not outcome. Published results, with their control arms and endpoints, are where benefit is decided.
If a clinic offers you this today, the useful question is not "is there research?" but "which of these registered studies is mine part of, and if none, what evidence applies to the exact product I am being sold?" The Provider Question Builder turns that into a scored checklist.
Frequently asked
How many MSC studies for Anemia are recruiting right now?
0 of 10 registered records were listed as recruiting in the 2026-08-29 snapshot. Recruitment status changes frequently; the registry record is authoritative.
Is MSC an approved treatment for Anemia?
Registration on ClinicalTrials.gov is not approval. Approval is granted by a regulator for a specific product and indication after review of submitted evidence. 10 registered studies tell you research exists, not that a product cleared review.
How advanced is the research on MSC for Anemia?
1 of 10 records carry a Phase 3 or Phase 4 label and 1 are marked completed. Registrations run from 2010 to 2026.
Registry and literature counts retrieved 2026-08-29 (ClinicalTrials.gov API v2; PubMed E-utilities). Registration or publication volume measures research activity, not effectiveness or approval. Educational information — not medical advice; verify product, indication, legal pathway and evidence with an independent qualified physician. Page generated 2026-08-29. See our editorial standards.
Download the query data
Query totals are full API matches; status, phase and country counts describe the first up to 400 returned records per query. Query classes overlap and must not be summed as unique trials. Counts are not treatment outcomes. Snapshot: 2026-08-29. Methods and field definitions.