HYDERABAD: Stem cell banking, so far available to the rich, is now within common man’s reach.
Thanks to the newly-introduced easy payment options, parents keen on insuring their children against serious illnesses in the future can do so at a pretty lower price. In fact, at Rs 1,500 per month.
Stem cells extracted from the umbilical cord blood -- a rich source of stem cells -- are usually stored at Rs 75,000 and Rs 1,25,000 for a period of 21 years at any of the four cord blood banks in India.
If at any point of time, any part of the child’s body is damaged, it can be revived using stem cells developed from the cord blood.
The same could be used to treat any of the family members.
Private players such as Cryobanks International, Reliance Life Sciences Ltd., LifeCell India Ltd., introduced easy payment options in late 2007 in a bid to make stem cell banking affordable. But even then, the lowest amount payable per month hovered around Rs 7,000- Rs 8,000.
‘‘The monthly subscription model is affordable for a larger section of the educated middle class. After introducing the easy payment options, there’s a 40 per cent increase in cord blood banking. A lot of people from smaller cities such as Vijayawada, Indore, Bhopal and Lucknow are now availing cord blood banking facilities,’’ said Dr Mrinalini Chaturvedi, Medical Director, Cryobanks International India, which currently has a bank of 8,500 cord blood cells. It has now introduced eight easy payment options, including the Rs 1,500 per month plan.
The concept of stem cell banking has been around in India for the past five years.
Though about 26 million children are born every year, so far, only 25,000 cord blood cells have been collected. ‘‘The poor adoption rate is primarily because of high pricing and lack of awareness. But, companies are trying to address both the issues. On our part, we are educating expectant mothers on the benefits of stem cell banking,’’ said Dr Usha Rani, one of the leading gynecologists.
Currently, stem cells can be used to treat diseases such as leukamia and liver damage.
Research is underway to treat a wider variety such as spinal cord injuries, cardiac diseases, parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis.
‘‘The potential is huge. For instance, there’s no cure for liver damage. The only alternative is transplantation. But with stem cell therapy, liver cells can be replinshed,’’ explained Ghazi Aasim, Marketing Head, Cryobanks International India.