Mesenchymal stem cells are usually obtained from bone marrow and require expansion culture. When samples clot before processing, a protocol using the (enzymatic) thrombolytic drug urokinase can be applied to degrade the clot. Thus, cells are released and available for expansion culture. This protocol provides a rapid and inexpensive alternative to resampling.
Schlaefli, P., Bertolo, A., Malonzo, C., Poetzel, T., Baur, M., Steffen, F., Stoyanov, J. An Enzymatic Method to Rescue Mesenchymal Stem Cells from Clotted Bone Marrow Samples. J. Vis. Exp. (98), e52694, doi:10.3791/52694 (2015).