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ROTARY NARAYANA TISSUE BANK & STEM CELL RESEARCH CENTRE (RNTB-SCRC)
Narayana Hrudayalaya provides professional therapy to the millions of afflicted individuals in need of treatment by experts at an affordable cost. This is the fulfillment of the dream of Dr. Devi Shetty, of making sophisticated healthcare available to the masses, especially in a developing country like our own.
Rotary is a worldwide organization of business, professional, and community leaders in more than 200 countries and geographical areas. The Rotary motto ‘Service Above Self’ conveys the humanitarian spirit of the organization’s more than 1.2 million members. Strong fellowship among Rotarians and meaningful local and international service projects characterize Rotary worldwide. Bangalore City and its suburbs have over 50 clubs doing yeomen service for benefit of fellow humans, polio eradication being the international flagship project.
One of the newer service divisions of the hospital to the society is the formation of the Rotary Narayana Tissue Bank & Stem Cell Research Centre, actively supported by the Rotary Bangalore Health City at a cost of over Rs. 5 million. This tissue bank will process, test and preserve various human tissues such as skin, cornea, heart valves, bone, cartilage and tendons for therapeutic purposes. At Narayana hrudayalaya, about 10 patients with acute myocardial infarction have been treated by autologous bone marrow derived-stem cell therapy and excellent outcomes have been reported. It is proposed to evolve stem cell therapy as a newer and effective modality of therapy. Hence the concept of a cord blood facility, wherein stem cells could be harvested for therapy.
The Cord Blood Bank being inaugurated would be used to collect, process, test and cryopreserve stem cells derived from the umbilical cord and placenta, an otherwise biological waste. These stem cells provide scope for novel therapies in over 90 clinically recognized hitherto incurable medical conditions. Both private and public banking facilities would be available under one roof.
What are Stem Cells ?
Stem cells are relatively primitive cells that have the ability to divide rapidly to produce more specialized cells. Stem cells in the embryo are capable of huge variation in the kinds of tissues they make, reproduce rapidly and have attracted interest of researchers for decades. However embryonic stem cells are hard to get hold of in humans and collection of embryos also require elaborate licensing by regulatory authorities. Cord blood or bone marrow derived stem cells, on the other hand are easier to collect, do not require elaborate licensing and are better tolerated than embryonic stem cells. These stem cells are also stable and more predictable and easily transplanted in patients, with minimal chances of rejection. However, adult bone marrow derived stem cells are preferred for autologous transplantation, while cord blood derived stem cells are useful for allogenic transplants.
Cord Blood Banking
One gets a single chance to preserve their baby’s cord blood. That’s why it’s critical to select a high quality cord blood storage facility. Some of the facts are listed below.
During pregnancy, the umbilical cord is the lifeline between mother and baby. Once the umbilical cord is discarded after the baby’s birth, the chance to preserve these precious cells that are an exact match for the child is lost. The baby’s “treasure” of stem cells can be stored with a guaranteed match so that the child will have life-saving protection against disease in the event that such a disease threatens it or a sibling. When there is a history of any of the various listed diseases in the family, having a perfect stem cell match are a future protection for the baby. Preserving these cells is a genuine form of biological insurance, should any of these diseases develop over time, even though no family history may exist.
Donating cord blood is medically safe. Donating poses no health risks to the mother or the baby. Donating does not affect the baby or the mother’s birth experience because the cord blood is collected after the baby is born. If the mother or the baby undergoes any complications during delivery, the treating doctor may not collect the cord blood.
Stem cells are used today in the treatment of leukemia, breast cancer, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease, aplastic anemia, various other cancers, blood diseases, hereditary/genetic conditions and immune system disorders. There are approximately 1.4 million new cancer cases each year. As stem cell transplants become more routine, they may be used to fight lung cancer, sickle cell anemia, multiple sclerosis, lupus, AIDS and many genetic diseases. Over 90 clinical conditions are listed as being treatable by stem cell transplants.
The identities of the cord blood donor and parents are kept confidential at the cord blood bank at all times and follow HIPPA confidentiality standards. Donating cord blood to the public bank is different than storing the cord blood for a family’s private use. Privately stored cord blood is reserved for the client’s family, while publicly donated cord blood goes into a public registry pool and may be used to treat any potential recipient with a HLA match.
After the baby's birth, the umbilical cord is clamped, breaking the link between the baby and the placenta. The small amount of blood remaining in the placenta and umbilical cord, typically three to five fluid ounces, is drained and taken to a cord blood bank where the unit is processed and samples are sent for tests. To be stored, the cord blood unit must meet these standards:
The unit must be large enough.
The maternal and family health history must meet eligibility guidelines.
Tests of the cord blood unit and the mother's blood sample must show no signs of infection or other possible problems.
If the unit meets these standards, it is frozen and stored in a liquid nitrogen freezer. The cord blood unit is uniquely Identified in RNTB-SCRC registry and available in the event of illness.
RNTB-SCRC conducts various tests for its suitability for storage, bacterial contaminants and to determine the number and viability of stem cells in the cord blood. If there are any abnormal results, the sample would not be stored.
Until now, the most common way to transfer stem cells from one person to another has been through bone marrow transplantation, which is a complex and risky procedure. Cord blood transplantation eliminates many of the problems associated with bone marrow transplants should a child need such treatment sometime in the future. If a child’s own cord blood stem cells are available, one need not have to look for a suitable match, the painful bone marrow extraction procedure will not be necessary, and the transplant will not be rejected.
The RNTB-SCRC would be a center focused on research and development of newer therapeutic technologies towards treating various diseases like thalassemia, leukemias, cardiac disease, diabetes and blindness.
A Cord Blood Storage facility is being initiated towards this end. This would have two parts namely a “Private Bank” and a “Public Bank”. The public cord blood bank would enable us to collect cord blood from delivery and birthing centers, process them, type their HLA signature and store them in ultra-low temperature conditions for use on prospective recipients. These recipients would have to be matched against their HLA signature with the stored stem cell concentrate.
The private cord blood bank would store cord-blood derived stem cells for the exclusive use of clients who would pay for the cryo-storage, for a period of 21 years. These samples would be used for the child or its siblings anytime in the future, for therapy of various medical conditions.
Narayana Health City has facilities for a bone-marrow transplantation program, which is already active in therapy of blood dyscrasias and such other diseases. This would be ably supported by the SCRC being established now.
It is proposed to gradually expand the coverage area under the SCRC to get cord blood samples from all over India, so that a huge stem cell repository is established at Narayana Health City, which would boost the medical tourism activity as well as reaching out to the masses in this niche segment of medical care.
RNTB-SCRC is also in the process of standardizing storage of the umbilical cord tissue. This tissue would yield valuable mesenchymal stem cells, which excellently complement the stem cell therapy for a prospective recipient. The facility would issue standardized collection kits to prospective parents after registration, to enable collection of this valuable biological material at the time of childbirth. RNTB-SCRC would arrange for logistics to transport the collected sample to its center for processing and storage.
For further details, contact:
Dr. Prem Anand Nagaraja., MD., MD (AM), PGCRCDM.,
Director, Operations, RNTB-SCRC
Rotary Narayana Tissue Bank & Stem Cell Research Centre, No. 258/A, Bommasandra Industrial Area, Anekal Taluk, Hosur Road, Bangalore – 560099.
Mail: rntb.scrc@gmail.com
drprem.nagaraja@gmail.com
Web: www.narayanahospitals.com
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