Last one year has witnessed a boost in number of parents preserving umbilical cord blood stem cells of children. Hridesh Jaiswal, centre head of Life Cell International, a pioneer in the concept of umbilical cord blood stem cell banking in India, which has been in Chandigarh since 2005, added that the increase has been due to various awareness campaigns regarding the technology, with doctors and counsellors educating the to-be parents of various benefits. He explains that the procedure is simple, at the time of the child’s birth, the cord blood is collected and taken to the cord blood stem cell bank for testing and processing the stem cells. The stem cells are preserved for potential medical use in the future. Whenever the stem cells are required for therapy they can approach the bank. 

Doctors from Life Cell explain that stem cells have the unique ability to differentiate into a variety of cells and their main potential lies in the ability to generate cells and tissues. Stem cells can also be directed to differentiate into specific cell types, thereby offering possibility of a renewable source of replacement cells and tissues. Across the world, stem cell transplants have been used since the ‘60s to treat a variety of blood diseases such as leukaemia, inherited immune system disorders, plasma cell disorders and other blood-related disorders. Dr R S Bedi said that possibilities exist in treating spinal cord injury, stroke, burns, heart disease, diabetes, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease. 

Preserving cord blood stem cells is not just beneficial for the child but it can also be of use to the entire family, with siblings having a 25 percent chance of being a suitable match. Banking umbilical cord blood stem cells is a life-saving alternate to bone marrow transplants.