Parents in Calcutta can now store their new-borns’ cord blood, a source of stem cells that can potentially treat over 80 illnesses, in the city itself.

East India’s first full umbilical cord blood tissue processing and storage facility has come up on Diamond Harbour Road, 7 km from the IIMC campus in Joka, with the capacity to store 50,000 units.

The project has been implemented by CordLife Sciences India Pvt Ltd, an equity-partnership between Singapore’s cord blood banking major CordLife and city-based Strassenburg Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

“The ceremonial launch will be in the first quarter of 2009,” said Meghnath Roy Chowdhury, the managing director of CordLife Sciences India, representing Strassenburg.

“Our presence in Calcutta will be a good start towards establishing a strong network,” feels Steven Fang, the CEO & executive director of CordLife.

During pregnancy, the umbilical cord functions as a lifeline between the mother and child. Cord blood, or placental blood, is the blood remaining in the umbilical cord and placenta following birth and after the cord is cut, and is routinely discarded with the placenta and umbilical cord.

At the city facility, CordLife Sciences India collects, processes and stores adult stem cells, which may later become potential source material for life-saving treatments. Parents can preserve the cord blood of their new-borns for a one-time fee of Rs 38,000 and an annual processing charge of Rs 3,600. Till now, the only option was to fly the sample to Chennai, Gurgaon or Mumbai to be cryo-preserved.

The cord blood will remain the property of the child for life, and will act as a source of stem cells for autologous and sibling transplants or for cellular therapies in future. Cord blood stem cells are already commonly used to treat several types of blood cancers and various inherited disorders. Recent study has shown adult stem cells can also be used to treat autoimmune diseases like lupus, multiple sclerosis, and Crohn’s Disease.

City-based gynaecologist Ranjit Chakraborty feels the facility would inspire more confidence among clinicians who would need to use these for future transplants.