Twitter
Advertisement

Stem cell banking catches rural imagination

Lately, smaller towns and remote districts of Maharashtra seem to have woken up to one of the most fascinating developments of modern biology.

Latest News
article-main
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin
Stem cell banking is no longer confined to metropolises like Mumbai or Pune. Lately, smaller towns and remote districts of Maharashtra seem to have woken up to one of the most fascinating developments of modern biology.

Sonal Goyal, a resident of Vazirabad of Nanded district, banked the umbilical cord blood of her child, born last week. Her family has no history of any medical ailment that could have prompted her to preserve it. “It is a sound investment for the future of my child and as good as a lifelong medical insurance,” the 25-year-old said. 

Stem cells - procured from the umbilical cord of newborns, foetuses and bone marrows - are special cells that can multiply into various kinds of cells. They are preserved to be used for any future medical treatment that a child may require, including in cases of leukemia, lymphoma or other blood disorders. Studies have indicated that it can also be used to treat degenerative disorders like Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s, spinal cord injury, burns, heart disease and diabetes.

Cryobanks India that provides for both autologous (private banking) and allogeneic (public banking) of stem cells quantify the increasing awareness in the rural areas.

Private banking means that the family has preserved the cells for personal usage, while public banking implies that the bank owns the right to use the cells in the way it deems fit.

“We have been collecting a large number of samples from Nashik, Bhusawal, Amravati, Nanded and Aurangabad,” said Dr CV Nerikar, chief executive officer, Cryobanks India. Recently, about 30 families from Nanded have come forward for umbilical cord blood preservation, he said. In the last one year, more than 600 families from Mumbai have opted for cord blood banking, said Nerikar.

The cost of banking is between Rs70,000 to Rs1 lakh. To lure more middle families, most of the stem cell banks have started offering EMI facilities and giving out personal loans.

For instance, Pune’s Cord Life Biotech had tied up with ICICI bank to facilitate personal loans to cover the cost of cord blood banking. “Such alliances are helpful for people from rural areas who may not be in a position to pay in bulk,” said one of their franchisee heads.

However, a word of caution comes from the experts who believe that Indian stem cell banks are mostly promoting private banking of cells. “Families need to understand that chances of needing cord blood for a child in a family without history of disease/s are remote,” said Dr Kanjaksha Ghosh, director, Institute of Immunohaematology. “In case the child has genetic blood disorders, it is useless to preserve the cells as they will carry the same defect,” he added.

 “People from Nashik, Jalgaon, Dhule and even taluka places enquire about it and invest, taking it to be at par with a health insurance,” said Dr PK Chopade, director, Genetic Health and Research Centre, Nashik. “General physicians, gynaecologists and paediatricians are propagating it in a big way in the interior places,” he added. 

It is time to set up banks that can harvest stem cells for the masses and from the masses, and use it under rigid regulatory guidelines, he added.
Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement