Stem Cell Bank Coming up in Ahmedabad

StemCyte Inc, United States, an International umbilical cord blood stem cell storage bank and a therapeutic company has joined hands with Apollo Hospitals Enterprise and Cadila Pharmaceuticals to set up a hybrid public and private umbilical cord blood stem cell bank and research institute — StemCyte India Therapeutics in Ahmedabad. The company plans to build an inventory of approximately 25,000 ethnically diverse umbilical cord blood units to help treat critically-ill patients in India and around the world. Dr Robert Chow, Global Medical Director founded StemCyte Inc, USA in 1997 operating both as an International Umbilical Cord Blood Stem Cell Storage Bank and a Therapeutic Company. He invented the company's proprietary processing technology.

The body's immune system can reject implanted cells and hence it is important that they are as close a match as possible. This possibility is enhanced if the cord blood comes from the same racial and/or ethnic profile as the patient that is to be treated. "Presently it is not easy to find a stem cell match for an Indian person and hence creating a public umbilical cord blood bank in India will enable Indian's in India and around the world to benefit, by having access to these units," said Kenneth Giacin, Chairman & CEO,

Till date, approximately 14,000 umbilical cord blood stem cell transplants have been carried out worldwide. StemCyte Inc— the parent company has provided more than 950 cord blood stem cell products for transplantation, to over 175 leading transplant centres in more than 30 countries.

More than 70 blood related diseases had been successfully treated with umbilical cord blood stem cells. These include various cancers (leukemias, lymphomas, myelomas), blood disorders (thalassemia, sickle cell anaemia, fanconi anemia) and autoimmune deficiency diseases.

Source: www.expresshealthcaremgmt.com May 2009