The Hindu Business Line : Banking on stem cells as a corporate perk

Striking a bond
Free Life-Cell membership card issued
Company bears the entire cost of child birth in addition to other medical benefits
Packages are priced on consumer's affordability

Mumbai , May 13

When 31-year-old Amol Mohandas was to become a father last year, he was made an unusual offer by Starcom, the media company he worked for.

The company offered to pick up the tab, a one-time payment of Rs 59,000 for 21 years, if the father-to-be opted for cord-blood banking.

Cord-blood banking involves harvesting stem cells from the placenta and umbilical cord, normally discarded after the baby is born. The naïve baby cells from the umbilical cord are stored to be used at a later date to treat illnesses, including cancer, anaemia and so on.

And for corporates looking at new ways to bond with their employees, cord-blood banking seems to be the latest "perk" under evaluation. The US-based Starcom MediaVest Group, a media-planning company, has been offering the perk since last year, says Mr Ravi Kiran, its Chief Executive Officer (South-Asia). This is in addition to other medical benefits and perks.

"Anyone having a child is given a Life-Cell membership free and we bear the cost. Last year, six people became fathers or mothers. It is not about the money, but the gesture. This year two more have become parents and more are on the way," he points out.

Stem-cell therapy as a regenerative medicine is gaining popularity worldwide as baby cells can be introduced into an adult organ and coaxed into multiplying to meet the needs of treatment. Starcom included cord-blood banking as a benefit to employees after it interacted with Life-Cell, a private firm in the segment, says Mr Kiran.

Asia Cryo-Cell's Vice-President (Marketing), Mr Prasad Mangipudi, says that in 45 days of "structured marketing" of LifeCell to corporates, about 30 companies have evinced interest and are at various stages of discussion.

Info-tech (IT) companies are interested in the medical perk as they are open to new technologies, are looking at new ways to stem attrition and the average age of employees is about 29 years (when people plan families), he observes.

Other sectors too are evaluating the option, designing packages that are employee and employer-friendly, he said. Some companies are looking at situations when employees may leave, in say two years, and hence, may not opt for Life-Cells' Rs 59,000 package. Instead, they may opt for the package where Rs 27,000 is paid initially, besides a yearly annual installment of Rs 2,900, he said. LifeCell's packages are priced depending on its costs and the consumer's affordability, Mr Mangipudi said. He expects to have enrolled at least 20 corporates by the year-end.

Having weighed the pros and cons of cord-blood banking, Starcom's Account Group-Head, Mr Mohandas, says of his "outside the box" perk: "It is a pro-active investment in preventive medicine. The stored cord-blood can be used to treat the child or next of kin. And it is a product close to one's heart." Certainly, a perk that employees may remember more than a Caribbean Cruise, quips Mr Mangipudi.

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Banking on stem cells as a corporate perk