Commitments and Contingencies (Details Narrative)								1 Months Ended				3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Aug. 05, 2019 USD ($)	Jan. 28, 2019 USD ($)	Jan. 28, 2019 ILS (₪)	Jan. 05, 2019 USD ($)	Apr. 02, 2018 USD ($)	Apr. 02, 2018 ILS (₪)	Jan. 28, 2018 ft² m²	Jul. 31, 2019 USD ($)	May 31, 2019 ft²	Jan. 31, 2019 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015 ft² Subsidiary	Jun. 30, 2019 USD ($) ft² m²	Jun. 30, 2018 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2019 USD ($) ft² m²	Jun. 30, 2018 USD ($)	Aug. 01, 2019 USD ($) ft²	Jun. 30, 2019 ILS (₪) ft² m²	Feb. 01, 2019 USD ($)	Jan. 24, 2019 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Leasehold improvement construction in progress																				$ 1,268,000
Cash fee												670,000	$ 392,000	1,395,000	$ 783,000
Amortized upfront payment fee												600,000		1,250,000
Access fees														1,250,000
Minimum [Member]
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Minimum annual maintenance fees														135,000
Maximum [Member]
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Minimum annual maintenance fees														150,000
Subsequent Event [Member]
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Loss contingency, agreed-in-principle fee claim	$ 200,000
Research and Option Agreement [Member] | Orbit Biomedical Limited [Member]
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Access fees payable				$ 2,500,000						$ 1,250,000
Collaborative research activities description				The access fees payable by BioTime to Orbit for its technology and the injection device are $2.5 million in the aggregate, of which $1.25 million was paid in January 2019 upon execution of the Orbit Agreement and the remaining $1.25 million payment is due on the earlier of (i) six months from the Orbit Agreement date or, (ii) upon completion of certain collaborative research activities using the Orbit technology for the OpRegen Phase I/IIa clinical trial, as specified in the Orbit Agreement. In addition to the access fees, BioTime will pay Orbit for costs of consumables, training services, travel costs and other out of pocket expenses incurred by Orbit for performing services under the Orbit Agreement. BioTime has exclusive rights to the Orbit technology and its injection device for the treatment of dry-AMD during the term of the Orbit Agreement and may extend the term for an additional three months by paying Orbit a cash fee of $500,000.
Cash fee				$ 500,000
Research and Option Agreement [Member] | Orbit Biomedical Limited [Member] | Subsequent Event [Member]
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Access fees payable								$ 1,250,000
Cell Cure [Member]
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Lease area | m²							934
Lease, renewal term							5 years
Area of land | ft²							10,054
Base rent and construction allowance per month		$ 26,000
Cell Cure [Member] | NIS [Member]
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Base rent and construction allowance per month | ₪			₪ 93,827
Office Space in New York City [Member]
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Base rent												$ 5,050		$ 5,050
Area of land | ft²												900		900			900
Alameda Lease [Member]
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Lease area | ft²											30,795					7,000
Number of buildings for lease | Subsidiary											2
Lease commencement date											Feb. 01, 2016
Lease expiration date											Jan. 31, 2023
Lease, renewal term											5 years
Base rent																$ 17,850		$ 70,521
Base rent increase rate																3.00%		3.00%
Security deposit												$ 78,000		$ 78,000		$ 17,850		$ 424,000
Security deposit reduction in value																			$ 78,000
Carlsbad Lease [Member]
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Lease area | ft²									8,841
Lease commencement date									Aug. 01, 2019
Lease expiration date									Oct. 31, 2022
Office and Laboratory Space, Jerusalem, Israel [Member]
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Base rent												$ 11,000		$ 11,000
Construction allowances of leasehold improvements					$ 1,100,000
Office and Laboratory Space, Jerusalem, Israel [Member] | NIS [Member]
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Base rent | ₪																	₪ 37,882
Construction allowances of leasehold improvements | ₪						₪ 4,000,000
Office and Laboratory Space, Jerusalem, Israel [Member] | Cell Cure [Member]
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Lease area | m²												728.5		728.5			728.5
Lease expiration date							Dec. 31, 2025							Dec. 31, 2020
Lease, renewal term												5 years		5 years			5 years
Area of land | ft²												7,842		7,842			7,842
Lease option to extend, description							Lease that expires on December 31, 2025, with two options to extend the lease for 5 years each (the "January 2018 Lease").
January 2018 Lease [Member]
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Leasehold improvement construction in progress																				1,100,000
Deposit																				$ 388,000