Banking on stem cells

Baishali Adak, Dec 26, 2013, DHNS :

Theoretically speaking, the concept of cord blood banking in India has been in circulation for quite some time. Educated and aware city-bred couples, who are expecting, are bound to have considered saving their newborns umbilical cord blood for regenerative and life-saving stem cells, in the past one or two decades. However, the last few years alone have seen a new vigour and assertiveness in the cord blood banking industry in India. Not just have new cord blood banks opened up (mainly branches of existing international ones) but they have also brought some innovative and aggressive marketing strategies with themselves.

Doctors say that now agents of these banks surround unsuspecting couples coming for prenatal checkups and convince them to buy their packages. About a month back, a leading cord blood bank also launched a TV commercial, whereby an expecting woman promises her baby the gift of life (read stem cells for possible future medical use), making many couples wonder if they are depriving their child by not going for it.

What do the doctors recommend?

Dr Meenakshi Sauhta, senior consultant Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Max Hospital, explains, Firstly, one must understand what cord blood banking is and why it is done. The blood in the umbilical cord of a baby, which is usually thrown away as medical waste, is actually rich in primitive stem cells. Stem cells are master cells which can grow into any kind of tissue including bones and blood once re-introduced in the body in the event of a medical problem.

Through research in the past few years, stem cells have been found to be effective in treating no less than 80 conditions ranging from various cancers to genetic and autoimmune disorders. With new trials proving them life-saving even in metabolic, brain and heart-related problems, the horizon is expanding rapidly, making cord blood banking essential day by day.

In US and several European countries, both public and private cord blood banks have existed alongside since the late 90s. In the public cord blood banking system, you voluntarily donate your babys cord blood, which becomes an anonymous property, and can retrieve any matching cord blood sample if required, years later. This is for free.

In the private system, though, you pay anywhere between Rs 22,000 to 1 lakh to store the blood which can be retrieved only by you or with your permission. The contract is for 21 years initially and you then pay annually for the storage depending on market rate. At the moment, only private cord blood banks exist in India.

Dr Venkatesh Ponemone, director, Totipotent RX Centre for Cellular Medicine, Gurgaon, says, Public banks are certainly a better idea but in their absence in India, couples can go for the private banks as well. The beauty of stem cells is that they are a perfect match for the family of a donor as well. Parents, grandparents, siblings, cousins can all use the stem cells if they get a medical condition anytime in future.

Today, worldwide, he adds, Over 25,000 cord blood transfusions are taking place annually. The interesting part is that only about 250 of these are autologous (donor receiving his own blood). The rest are all allogeneic (unrelated donors) or family members of the original patron.

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Banking on stem cells