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Written By: Editorial Team | Updated : May 1, 2014 7:29 PM IST
Nalini Ambady, the first Indian American woman to teach psychology at Harvard and Stanford universities, died of leukemia last month after failing to find a donor for a life-saving bone marrow transplant both in the US and India. But she is not the only one. In India, the situation is very grim. According to experts, over 70 percent of patients in need of a stem cell transplant are unable to find a match due to lack of bone marrow donors. Also, the inventory of donated umbilical cord blood units is negligible.
Realising the need for a repository, LifeCell - India's first stem cell banking company - has planned to set up the country's largest public cord blood bank. The Chennai-based company plans to have an inventory of 10,000 units that can be used for treatment during serious medical conditions. 'The need for a public repository of donor stem cells is being felt sharply with the sad demise of Dr. Nalini Ambady as she could not find a bone marrow match either in the US or India despite a massive online campaign run by her family and friends,' Mayur Abhaya, managing director and head of LifeCell, told IANS.
The company plans to spend Rs.25 crore/Rs 250 million for establishing the bank in Chennai in the next five years. At the moment, India has 15 private cord blood stem cell banks. But the need is growing day by day. This was specially felt in the Nalini Ambady case. Despite searching for a match in the US and India, she could not find anything that could help her.
On the need for an extensive repository, Abhaya said: 'Considering the huge ethnic diversity in the country many more units would be required to give patients a reasonable chance of finding a match.' The umbilical cord blood is a rich source of stem cells that have the potential to treat over 80 medical conditions today such as thalassemia (rare blood disorder), leukemia (blood cancer), myeloma (a type of bone marrow cancer), lymphoma (type of blood cancer) and many such critical diseases. Stem cells are regenerative cells that can be transplanted to replace damaged cells in the body.
'The idea is to improve the stem cell asset base in the country to make the benefits available to our people. As of now the umbilical cord blood is wasted post-delivery,' he said. 'We have tied up with over 100 large public health institutions for collection of around 100,000 cord blood samples. Generally 1 in 10 samples are of storing quality; so by the end we will have a repository of 10,000 units,' said Abhaya.
He said consent of the parent will be taken before releasing the unit to a needy patient. 'We have decided to keep a cost of Rs. 500,000 (over $8,300) to source a unit of cord blood as compared to $40,000-50,000 (Rs. 25 lakh) in the US. In Europe, it costs the equivalent of Rs.21 lakh,' he said.
'In the recent years a large number of umbilical cord blood banks have been created worldwide to provide more access to these precious stem cells. 'In 2005 there were less than 25 banks worldwide and now there are over 500 banks around the world with an umbilical cord blood bank now established in almost every major country,' he said. Umbilical cord blood banking is today regarded as an essential service globally wherein the precious stem cells are collected from the umbilical cord blood and preserved in minus 190 degree Celsius in order to maintain its utility for decades.
What is cord blood banking?
If you could get a magic wand which would protect your child from 80-odd diseases including thalassemia, leukaemia, sickle cell disease, arthritis, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis and maybe even diabetes and heart disease in the future, would you opt for it? This isn't a fairy tale we're talking about. Cord blood banking isn't just a celeb fad anymore. As people are becoming more aware about its benefits, the cost of Rs 50000 Rs 80000 isn't deterring people anymore.
Why should I preserve my baby's cord blood?
In the 1970s researchers discovered that umbilical cord blood contains hemopoetic (blood forming) stem cells. Blood forming stem cells are those cells that are capable of developing into three types of mature blood cells red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. Cord blood stem cells are also known for their potential to give rise to other types of cells in the body. Since they are obtained from the baby's own blood and cells, the chances of rejection during medical treatment are very low.Cord blood bankingis also a one-time opportunity to help your own family, this is because transplant patients have a better chance of recovery if they receive their own stem cells or those of close family instead of someone unrelated. There are now emerging therapies in which your child could use his/her own cord blood stem cells to help the body repair itself. In the future, children whose parents saved their cord blood will have better access to futuristic treatments.
Will it hurt my child?
Harvesting cord blood is a safe and painless procedure. That being said, it requires a little planning on your part since it is not routinely done in hospitals or clinics. Collection of cord blood takes place shortly after birth. It can be performed in both normal as well as cesarean (C-section) deliveries. Your baby's cord blood will be collected by your obstetrician, nurse, or a technician. The physician will first cut the umbilical cord and clamp it on one side, after which he/she will insert a small needle into the umbilical vein and use a syringe to draw blood. Blood also can be collected by hanging a bag below the mother and letting gravity draw the blood down through a tube and into the bag. The blood collection can be done either before or after the mother delivers the placenta.
How is the cord blood stored?
After collection, the cord blood is sent to the cord-blood bank you have chosen. Once in the bank, the sample is assigned an identification number. This number is unique to you and your baby. The stem cells are then separated from the blood and stored in liquid nitrogen (also called cryogenic storage).
What can cord blood stem cells be used for?
Cord blood contains Mesenchymal stem cells(MSC). These cells can differentiate to build bone, cartilage and connective tissue, and are also effective in regulating the body's inflammatory response to damaged or injured cells. Harvesting the umbilical cord blood can yield between 21 and 500 million MSC. An important part of the transplant programme is Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) matching. A 100 per cent HLA match will ensure that the transplant is a success. Currently researchers are exploring the use of cord blood stem cells to treat conditions such as Type 1 Diabetes, Cardiovascular disease, Central nervous system disorders like cerebral palsy, down's syndrome, traumatic spinal injuries, blood cancer (leukaemia), thalassemia (inherited) and bone marrow failure diseases.
Why is cord blood a preferred source for stem cell therapy over bone marrow transplants?
In order to be used as a treatment option for patients, cord blood recipient has to match the donor sample only partially (67 per cent as compared to 100 per cent match in case of bone marrow transplants).
With inputs from: IANS
