The Hindu Business Line : The new `lifeline' with neighbours

WHEN Azeez from Pakistan called up Chennai-based private cord blood bank Lifecell insisting that he wanted to store the cord blood or blood from the umbilical cord of his soon-to-be born child, Lifecell was surprised.

Neither did they have a presence in Pakistan, nor had they actively marketed themselves. But that did not matter to Azeez (name changed due to confidentiality reasons), who finally managed to send the cord blood across to the Pakistani Consulate in Delhi with diplomatic backing, recalls Lifecell's Mr Prasad Mangipudi. Medicine, it seemed, was going to play a lifeline yet again between the two neighbouring countries.

"We are already getting enquiries from Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Dubai," Mr Abhaya Kumar, Chief Executive Officer of Asia Cryo-cell Private Ltd, told Business Line.

Lifecell will establish a cord blood bank in either Singapore or Malaysia, with a local hospital. But it will also set up collection centres in the SAARC countries by 2006, he said.

Franchisees would run the collection centres, though Lifecell will provide the technology and support. The centres will collect the cord blood, usually wasted after the child is born. The significance of these baby or naïve cells from the umbilical cord is that it can be introduced into an adult organ and coaxed into multiplying. This process is being used to treat a host of illnesses, including cancer.

In India, Lifecell has a private cord blood bank at Keelakotaiyur in Tamil Nadu and is looking to establish a transplant centre at Chennai. It is looking to tie-up with a hospital. Besides the initial investment of Rs 15 crore in the project, Mr Kumar said that the company would invest another Rs 35 crore by April 2006. The funds would come from private equity and venture funding, said Mr V.S. Pattabi Raman, Director with the company.

Dr Saranya Nandakumar, Lifecell's Medical Director, said that there were no ethical issues involved with the private cord blood bank, as stem cells were being harvested from the placenta and umbilical cord normally discarded after birth. The cord blood would be used only for family members, she said, and added that ethical issues emerged with research and public banking.

Public cord blood banks give cord blood to people outside the family. She said that now cord blood banking falls under the regular blood banking norms.

Mr J. Raman, another Director with the company, pointed out that parents wanting to store the cord blood of their children had different price options. One such scheme involved a one-time payment of Rs 59,000 for storing the blood for 21 years. He said that banks and insurance companies were coming forward to support interested parents.

Citibank was offering a discount on its credit card to Lifecell members and ICICI was looking at similar packages, said Mr Pattabi Raman. Bajaj Insurance, too, was offering a 15 per cent discount on the premium paid by the Lifecell customer for a health insurance, he said, indicating that price will not be an inhibitor. Asia Cryo-Cell has a technology-sharing pact with US's Cryo-Cell International, which has been in cord blood banking for over 12 years.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page