Table 2.

Advantages and disadvantages of autologous and allogeneic cell transplants for transplantation in spinal cord injury

Issue	Autologous	Allogeneic
Cost	Per batch costs are high as single preparation for one patient	Development and batch validation costs are high, but per vial costs are relatively low
Availability	Limited by the success of autologous cell culture	Cryopreserved stocks
Risk of host immune rejection	Considered to be minimal	Substantial, immune suppression required
Biomarkers of survival and function	None	Evidence of host cellular or antibody immune response to allograft
Expansion of cell culture	Limited by senescence at >passage 5–6	Allogenic 'stem’ cells can be expanded for a greater number of passages