the invention is directed toward a sterile cartilage defect implant material comprising milled lyophilized allograft cartilage pieces ranging from 0 . 01 mm to 1 . 0 mm in size in a bioabsorbable carrier taken from a group consisting of sodium hyaluronate , hyaluronic acid and its derivatives , gelatin , collagen , chitosan , alginate , buffered pbs , dextran or polymers with allogenic chondrocytes or bone marrow cells in an amount exceeding the natural occurrence of same in hyaline cartilage and adding a cell growth additive .