British scientists say they have made a significant breakthrough in finding a treatment using stem cells for osteoarthritis, a crippling disease that can leave people unable to walk.

Researchers at Bristol University announced Tuesday that they discovered the treatment after successfully growing new cartilage from a patient's own stem cells. Such cells are self-renewing and have the ability to grow into blood, bones or organs.

The research team said the new technique is expected to overcome problems of transplant rejection because the patient's own cells are used to create the cartilage.

Ethical concerns over using human embryos in stem cell research can also be avoided by using cells derived from the patient.

The scientists hope that the technique will allow them to carry out transplants in the future, but experts warn it could take over a decade to perfect the technique.