In what may come as a relief to over 1 lakh patients of thalassemia in India, a public sector stem cell bank is set to come up at UP’s King George’s Medical University in Lucknow. A project of the university’s transfusion medicine department, the stem cell bank would roll out stem cell therapy to patients with thalassemia and sickle cell anaemia. The proposal is awaiting clearance from the state department of medical education.
In UP, SGPGIMS and KGMU are both trying to explore the potential of stem cells to treat various health problems. SGPGI has, so far, restricted itself to use of allogeneic (stem cells derived from bone marrow of a person), while KGMU has used stem cells derived from the umbilical cord. Head of transfusion medicine department of KGMU said, several private sector stem cell banks are operating in India but they serve only those who have deposited the baby’s cord,…
