Patent ID: 8221500

Claim:
A method for repairing a defect in articular cartilage of a human patient, said method comprising the steps of: (a) providing milled allograft cartilage pieces; (b) combining the milled allograft cartilage pieces with a biocompatible carrier to form a cartilage mixture; (c) providing a non-decellularized osteochondral plug harvested from a human donor; (d) treating the non-decellularized osteochondral plug to remove cellular material, chondrocytes, pluripotent mesenchymal cells and proteoglycans therefrom; (e) lyophilizing the decellularized osteochondral plug to form a lyophilized decellularized osteochondral plug having a subchondral bone base and a cartilage cap attached to a first end of the subchondral bone base, (f) providing a plurality of passageways in the lyophilized, decellularized osteochondral plug, the passageways extending from the first end to a second end of the subchondral bone base; (g) implanting the cartilage mixture into a bore formed at the patient's articular cartilage defect; and (h) implanting the lyophilized, decellularized osteochondral plug into the bore so as to be in juxtaposition to the cartilage mixture, such that at least a portion of the cartilage mixture is received in the passageways to thereby promote chondrocyte migration into and proliferation within the cartilage cap, while enhancing tissue integration between the lyophilized, decellularized allograft osteochondral plug and patient tissue adjacent the bore.