Narayana Hrudayalaya in association with the Rotary Health City has now established a dedicated Tissue Bank and Stem Cell Research Centre. In order to set up the Bank, the Rotary Bangalore Health City has provided financial assistance to the tune of over Rs 50 lakh (Rs 5 million).

The new facility known as the Rotary Narayana Tissue Bank and Stem Cell Research Centre is located within the premises of the Narayana Nethralaya, an eye care unit which is part of the hospital group.

The 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 cells and excellent outcomes have been reported. It is proposed to evolve stem cell therapy as a newer and effective modality of therapy.

A cord blood facility has also been opened, wherein stem cells could be harvested for therapy. The cord blood bank would collect, process, test and cryopreserve stem cells derived from the umbilical cord and placenta, a biological waste. These stem cells provide scope for novel therapies in over 90 clinically recognized and hitherto incurable medical conditions. Both private and public banking facilities would be available under one roof. The hospital sources claim this as the only healthcare provider in Karnataka which has this facility.

The initiative by Narayana Hrudayalaya has opened many avenues for state-of-the treatment for even the non-operable conditions, said Dr VS Acharya, Karnatala minister for Home Affairs who was the chief guest. "The state Government will help this cause and we ensure support for it," he added.

Around three lakh stem cells have to be preserved to be able to match the requirements for seven to eight cases. This centre gives us the opportunity to develop the technology to provide high quality but affordable treatment, stated Dr Prem Anand Nagaraj, CEO, Rotary Narayana Tissue Bank and Stem Cell Research Centre.

"Though the Stem Cell Research is in its infancy it still holds the key to high quality treatment. All that needs to be done is preserve the cord blood which anyway is thrown as waste," said Dr Devi Prasad Shetty, managing director, Narayana Hrudayalaya.