CHENNAI: Jeevan Blood Bank and Research Centre on Thursday inaugurated the country’s first non-profit public cord blood bank - ‘Jeevan Stem Cell Bank’- here on Thursday.
Cord blood is the blood of the placenta and umbilical cord, which is a rich source of stem cells. While private banking of cord blood has becoming increasingly popular over the years, Jeevan’s bank will be unique in that it asks parents to donate cord blood for storage and potential use in the future by anyone who needs it.
The bank will not charge for collection and storage of the cord blood. The stored blood will offer potential stem cell treatment to children and adults with several diseases, especially blood cancer and thalassemia.
“For families living below the poverty line, the cord blood will be given free of cost when they need it. For those who can afford we intend to ask for an outermost cost of Rs 1 lakh,’’ said Dr P Srinivasan, managing trustee and co-founder of the centre.
MP Kanimozhi inaugurated the facility.
“This project marks a new revolution in the field of medicine and also offers credibility to this venture. It will help bring new developments in the reach of those who cannot afford them,’’ she said.
“In India there are around 1 lakh people born everyday giving us huge numbers of potential cord blood units that can be stored.
Every year about 2,000 transplants are performed across the world using cord blood and the numbers are growing,’’ said Dr Saranya Narayan, medical director of the centre.
“There are about 70,000 people with thalassemia in the country and every year there are around 7,000 new cases. The blood transfusion cost for a thalassemia patient is about Rs 2 lakh per year,’’ she said. With stem cell treatment, with luck, it would be a one-time cost of Rs 5 to 8 lakh.
To donate, parents have to only provide details of their current pregnancy and medical and family history. The centre will decide who is eligible to donate. Once collected, the blood will be screened for the usual and additional diseases and then stored.
The shelf life for cord blood is 21 years and the cure rate for thalassemia and leukaemia has been found to be 80 per cent through stem cell transplants, Dr Srinivasan said.
The centre has already received 20 donations and hopes to collect 30,000 units over the next five years. The project is due to cost Rs 115 crore over the next five years.