India To Set Up Largest Public Cord Blood Bank

New Delhi: 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 U.S. or India despite a massive online campaign run by her family and friends," Mayur Abhaya, managing director and head of LifeCell, told IANS.

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