Conduct stem cell research: Kalam

Friday, 14 February 2003, 20:30 IST
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HYDERABAD: President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Thursday asked Indian cardiac surgeons to conduct intensive research on stem cell applications for the heart. Kalam interacted with delegates at the 49th meet of the Indian Association of Cardiovascular-Thoracic Surgeons here from Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi through videoconferencing. He advised the association to set up a research group to work on stem cell treatment to rejuvenate the heart. "It is possible. Every human component can be cloned," he said. The president said in spite of angioplasty, bypass surgery and other procedures, there were many parts of the heart afflicted by disease that needed replacements, like the heart wall. "The question is how to activate the heart system," he said. Expressing concern over India having the highest number of people suffering from heart ailments, the president asked experts to find out the cause. "You should find out whether it is due to genetic defects or lifestyle or improper food habits or due to lack of health awareness," he said. About 1,000 delegates are attending the four-day technical deliberations, which began Thursday morning. Kalam, who played a vital role in developing healthcare technologies, including a stent to reduce recurrence of hindrance in blood flow in arteries, during his stay as defence scientist here, evinced keen interest in the deliberations of the conference. "Every heart surgeon can teach relatives of the patients on lifestyle changes required to prevent heart ailments," he said and noted that 50,000 heart surgeries were performed in India every year and about 100 relatives visited hospitals to see patients. "Tell them about the need to change lifestyle. Don't bother about business. The business will continue," he told the surgeons. He said satellite communication technology could be used to transmit the live surgeries being performed at major hospitals to medical colleges and small hospitals in remote areas to share the expertise of surgeons. He also advised surgeons to visit central research laboratories and cooperate with them and production agencies to develop new technologies. He cited the example of the Society for Biomedical Technology, which was set up during his stint as director of the Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL) here. He said it was through this society that the Kalam-Raju stent, lightweight calipers for polio-affected people and telemedicine technology was developed. Also present at the conference venue were experts who had a close association with Kalam when he was in Hyderabad as head of India's missile programme from 1981-1991. They include B. Soma Raju, Arun Tiwari and D. Prasada Rao of Care Hospitals.
Source: IANS