LifeCell International makes stem cell banking affordable to all (Bangalore,
Ocotober 13, 2009)
Introduces new services for cord tissue banking to mark the successful completion of five years
Bangalore, October 13, 2009:
LifeCell International, India’s first & the largest stem cell banking
services provider and a pioneer in stem cell research, technology &
therapy, marks the completion of five years of successfully securing
lives. On this landmark achievement LifeCell takes a big leap to make
stem cell banking affordable for the common man by significantly
reducing its pricing across the entire range of BabyCord and BabyCord
Duo services.
The company has also launched two new value added services - BabyCord
Duo 1m and 50m for its cord tissue customers, pan India. Under this
special service, LifeCell will process the umbilical cord tissue to
harness the Mesenchymal stem cells and then multiply it to 1 million or
50 million cells respectively. These cells will then be cryo-preserved
and saved ready for future therapeutic use. These services are available
for an initial payment of Rs. 48, 000 and Rs. 72,000 with an annual
storage fee of Rs. 3000 and 5000 each. In case of onetime payment these
service are available for Rs. 79, 900 or Rs. 1, 19, 900 respectively.
Apart from this new service, prices across levels have been revised to
accommodate stem cell banking in the common man’s budget. As per this
new strategy, annual storage cost for cord blood stem cell banking has
been slashed from Rs.79, 000 to Rs. 59,900. Couples can also choose to
pay an initial fee of Rs. 36,000 and store their baby’s cord blood cells
at an annual storage fee of mere rupees 2000 for 20 years. This move is
aimed to promote the noble concept among general public in the form of
bio insurance against life threatening diseases. Besides, there is a
BabyCord Duo plan, where the Umbilical cord tissue is also stored as it
is without any processing along with cord blood stem cells. The Baby
Cord Duo plan is available for an initial payment of Rs. 42,000 with an
annual storage fee of Rs. 2500.
Talking at the occasion,
Mr. Mayur Abhaya, President and Executive
Director, LifeCell International, said,
“Rising cost has become a
national concern with the middle and lower income groups being affected
the most. This is also at times a hindrance for couples while they opt
to secure their child’s future. To break away from this trend and
popularize the concept among a larger set of audience, we decided to
revise our cost as per our introductory pricing plan. Our customers can
save upto 25% on all our services. For instance, the onetime fee of our
Babycord service is reduced to Rs. 59,900 from Rs. 79,000, which would
translate into a saving of Rs. 19000 for our customers.”
Commenting further,
Mr. Mayur Abhaya said,
“LifeCell over
these five successful years have moved from securing Life to Saving
Life, our recent successful case study where an 8 year old girl was
cured of Thalassemia, validates the potential of these miraculous cells.
We see this new age therapy soon becoming a ray of hope for many others
who are suffering from major life threatening diseases. On this occasion
we are pleased to introduce our two new specialized value added services
for cord tissue banking - Baby Cord Duo 1m and 50m.”
Keeping the customers convenience in mind LifeCell will also offer
various EMI options to make cord blood and tissue stem cell banking
easily accessible to everyone. The company has also set up its second
collection center at Janak Residency, Kumara Krupa Road in Bangalore.
About Cord Tissue Banking and Mesenchymal Stem cells:
Previously after the collection of the umbilical cord blood, the
remaining solid cord tissue was normally discarded. This tissue was
identified to be a rich source of Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) which
are superior to bone marrow MSCs, as they are fetal in nature and
therefore more robust. The technology to harness the potential of
Umbilical Cord Tissue, a rich source of Mesenchymal stem cells was
developed in-house at the LifeCell R&D center at Chennai, India.
Mesenchymal Stem Cells are at the forefront of therapeutic strategies
for a number of hitherto incurable diseases like treating Heart Disease,
Type I Diabetes, Crohn’s Disease, GVHD, Osteoarthritis and Stroke.
However, the MSCs from Cord tissue show additional therapeutic potential
in animal models to treat Parkinsonism, Skeletal muscle injury, Limb
ischemia, Retinal nerve degeneration.
About LifeCell International Pvt. Ltd:
LifeCell is India’s first & largest umbilical cord blood stem cell bank
to bring the revolutionary concept of banking a baby’s umbilical cord
blood stem to the country. LifeCell facilitates the cryogenic
preservation of stem cells in technological collaboration with Cryo-Cell
International Inc, USA - the world’s first stem cell bank with more than
16 years of expertise in stem cell banking.
LifeCell in the past 4 years has positioned itself as leaders in the
Industry and was the first stem cell bank in India to be accredited by
AABB (American Association of Blood Banks) for adopting their
international standards and today LifeCell is the “First AABB Accredited
Stem Cell Bank in India” and recognized by DSIR, Govt. of India for R&D.
Today LifeCell has close to twenty thousands members who have preserved
their baby’s cord blood and cord tissue stem cells and has over 50
centers across India and abroad. The company will soon be launching
another revolutionary service of Menstrual Blood Stem Cell Banking for
every woman to preserve her stem cells and potentially secure her future
from life-threatening diseases. With this additional service LifeCell is
now the first & only comprehensive stem cells solutions provider to
offer a complete spectrum of services in stem cells through
multi-service banking, R&D, Clinical Trials and Stem Cell Therapy
For Further information please contact:
Valerine / Varsha
Hanmer MS&L