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Disease-proof Deposit: Umbilical Cord in Banks
Hindustan Times
26 June 2005
Sanchita Sharma Hindustan Times
NEW DELHI, India, June 26 -- Geeta Gujral has an unusual gift for her first grandchild: the newborn's umbilical cord stem cells will be saved for use against possible future disease. Investment banker Jatin Bery too got his son's cord stem cells banked as an ultimate health safeguard for his firstborn two months ago.
Privately-run banks are now giving parents-to-be the option of having stem cells collected from their baby's umbilical cord straight after birth and stored for up to 21 years as a living health insurance. Once the child is an adult, he or she can choose to continue banking the cells or donate them for use by others who need them.
Stem cells are the foundation cells for every organ, tissue and cell in the body and can be developed into specialised tissues and organs or used to treat life-threatening diseases.
Currently, they are used to treat 45 diseases and conditions such as thalassaemia, leukemia, sickle-cell anaemia and several cancers.
Since the cost is steep, most parents-to-be spend months choosing a reliable stem cell repository. Bery says he was planning to go to a stem cell bank in London until he heard of the Indian options.
"I went through the brochures, spoke to the company and sent someone to Chennai to look their place over before deciding, to ensure that the company will not fold up in the next few years", he says.
Only then did he pay Rs 60,000 to bank his son's stem cells for 21 years. Installment options are also available but cost more.
The other popular repository is the Mumbai-based Reliance Life Sciences, which was South Asia's first umbilical cord blood repository.
Life saver
1 Stem cells are the foundation cells for every organ, tissue and cell in the body
2 They can be developed into specialised tissues and organs, or used to treat life-threatening diseases
3 Currently, they are used to treat 45 diseases like thalassaemia, leukemia, sickle-cell anaemia, cancers
4 Trials are on to track their use in treating stroke, heart disease, diabetes, Parkinson's disease.
The Hindustan Times is provided through HT Syndication, New Delhi.
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