CordLife, the leading network of private cord blood banks in Asia Pacific, officially launched India's largest and most advanced facility in Kolkata. The facility is the largest in the group with a storage capacity of up to 1,50,000 cord blood units. Licensed by the Drug Controller General of India, CordLife is able to collect cord blood units from all Indian states and cities.
"The new CordLife facility in India is by far our most advanced built to date. It was built in line with world-class quality marks such as the American Association of Blood Banks, Therapeutic Goods Administration and ISO. Our investment in these standards is a necessary requirement to support stem cell therapies globally. We are confident that the applications of cord blood stem cells will grow in India," said Steven Fang, group CEO, CordLife Ltd.
Cord blood, with its rich source of non-controversial blood stem cells, can be used to treat over 80 diseases today; including certain cancers such as leukaemia and breast cancer, blood disorders like thalassemia major and other immunodeficiencies. A boy with leukaemia was saved after receiving his sibling's cord blood stem cells which were collected and processed by CordLife Singapore. CordLife Indonesia recently released six cord blood units for the successful clinical treatment of second degree burn trauma patients. Heart patients in the Netherlands also benefited from CordLife's support. The future looks bright as researchers worldwide continue to unlock the potential of stem cells especially in the field of regenerative medicine.
"Cord blood has become a very common source of stem cells for transplantations today. Thanks to stem cells, thousands of patients around the world have received a new lease on their lives. We are pleased to be able to offer this miracle of life to the Indian community," said associate professor Mark Kirkland, medical director of BioCell, an associate of CordLife Ltd. He was recently named 'Researcher of the Year' in Barwon, Australia for his pioneering work in redirecting the differentiation of stem cells into heart cells.
CordLife will be bridging technologies from within the group's portfolio and its global partners in Netherlands, Australia, Indonesia and India. This will be done through tie-ups with institutions locally to spur therapeutic applications in India. CordLife is committed to spend approximately 30 crore to make stem cell therapy a reality, and cord blood banking accessible throughout India.
An Australian Stock Exchange listed company, CordLife received the 2007 World Economic Forum 'Technology Pioneer' award for developing stem cell therapies. In addition, the group operates a network of globally accredited cord blood banking facilities in Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Indonesia to support the company's aspirations to develop stem cell therapies for heart ailments, diabetes and skin trauma.