Life Cell to come up with 31 stem cell collection centres

Kolkata, Oct 12 (UNI) Lifecell, Chennai based stem-cell banking and research company, will set up 31 collection centres for umbilical cord blood stem cells across the country by this financial year.

Talking to UNI, Vice-President (Marketing) Prasad Mangipudi said here today that the company had already launched 17 collection centres. However, the Chennai facility would remain the central collection and processing centre.

''We are tying up with hospitals to create a public bank of these cells,'' he said. The public banking of stem cells would be operational by December. After Chennai, similar transplant centres would be launched in Kolkata, Mumbai and Delhi.

It would launch a Rs 14 crore stem cell transplant centre, in collaboration with Sri Ramchgandra Medical college and Research Institute, Chennai and planning to set up a cardiac transplant centre using stem cells.

Umbilical cord blood cells area are regarded as immature or naive cells as they have no infections. These cells are seen as critical in the treatment of an increasing number of diseases and blood cancer. These diseases include strokes, liver transplants, diabetes, and spinal cord injuries.

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