KOLKATA: Singapore-based CordLife has entered India with a facility here. This is the fifth such unit of the cord blood bank company in the world. It plans to fan out across the country with Kolkata as headquarters.
Managing director of CordLife India Meghnath Roy Chowdhury told The Hindu that cord blood and stem cells banked after a child’s birth could be used to treat 80 diseases that include blood disorders such as thalassemia Major, quite a few types of cancer, including luekaemia, inherited diseases and immunological disorders.
Mr. Chowdhury said an agreement had to be signed between the company and consenting parents whereby a new-born’s cord blood was banked and stored cryogenically (instead of being thrown away) against a certain one-time fee and an annual charge.
While theoretically, cord blood could be saved and used for an infinite period, the longest-serving one was now used after 24 years (given that the technique was commercialised only in the late 80s). Cord blood could be used for treating a sibling too.
Steven Fang, Group CEO, CordLife Ltd., said the facility in India was by far the most advanced within the company’s network. The company, which is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, had invested around Rs.10 crore in the facility. It would open marketing branches in all the major metros in India within the next two years involving an investment of Rs.30 crore. The first one would be in New Delhi within three months. The company had similar units in Australia, Hongkong, Indonesia and Singapore.
The storage capacity of the unit here would be 1,50,000 cord blood units.
“Cord blood has become a very common source of stem cells for transplantations today and thousands of patients around the world received a new lease of life because of it. We are pleased to offer this miracle of life to the Indian community,” Mark Kirkland, associate professor and medical director of BioCell, a subsidiary of CordLife, said.
The firm said a Singapore boy with leukemia was saved after receiving his sibling’s cord blood stem cells, which were collected and processed by CordLife Singapore.
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Cryobanks International India also provides umbilical cord blood stem cells banking services in various cities of India. Cryobank provides a Private Cord Blood Storage Program for expecting families that wish to privately store their baby's precious stem cells and a Public Cord Blood Donation Program for those who prefer to donate.
After much thought and discussions, I finally chose to bank my baby's cord blood with CordLife in April. I was very satisfied with their pre and post sales services. Their client representatives are always alert on your call and requirements. The payment structure is very flexible, depending on your capacity you can choose any of the plans offered. I was so happy with their approach and services that after my delivery I had referred 2 of my other friends also to go with CordLife. After getting associated with CordLife I have learned that mere national presence or agressive marketing hardly plays any role in this sector. It is upto you with which private bank you actually want to preserve your baby's future.
Call them anytime @ 9830166200.
I want to join the Public Cord Blood Donation Program ? What do I have to do?
We make an appeal to the vast Online Community to come forward and register themselves as Blood Donors. Blood Donation is the biggest donation in the world. As we all know, tragedy occurs every other day and we hear about blood shortages. We cannot let people die short of blood. Our blood can give life to someone, someday. Hence, it is our duty as an Indian to stand up to the situation. Netinfobase has thus started an effort where you can register yourself as an Blood Donor and be helpful to our nation in the testing times.
To register, Visit http://www.netinfobase.com/
Just an additional info. Donating cord blood is medically safe and doesn't affect pregnancy. Donating poses no health rsiks to the pregnant or the baby. Cord blood was once routinely discarded as medical waste but now its recognized for its life-saving capabilities, ideal for blood transplants because it is rich in self-repairing stem cells.
If you waould like to know more about cord blood, you can vist the http://bloodbanker.com/cord for more information.
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