Minisha and Sanjay Minotra are expecting a baby in July. Apart from excitedly shopping for the baby, the couple also spent a lot of time poring over various health insurance policies that would include their new born.
What they finally settled on was, however, far from any ordinary medical policy.
They decided to enroll into a umbilical cord bank and deposit cord blood that can be stored and used in the future in case their baby is faced with any serious health problems.
"We both know that the blood from the umbilical cord is rich in stem cells that can be later used for curing all kinds of medical disorders and we feel it is a wise investment," says Minisha.
Expectant parents now have the option of using umbilical cord banks to store the stem cells of their babies for a period of 21 years.
The stem cells will be kept in store till the parents or the child (upon reaching the age of 21) decide what it can be used for.
Health experts feel that this is advantageous for two reasons. First the stem cells can be used to cure a number of diseases and should the child fall prey to any disease he has a better chance of recovery.
They also feel that if the child is healthy, then he or she can think about donating the stem cells for furthering scientific research.
The procedure for enrollment at either of the banks - Life Cell in Chennai and Reliance Life in Mumbai - is simple.
An expectant mother can simply fill up a form and get herself enrolled at a cost of Rs 5000.
She is then given a kit containing a plastic bag for storing the umbilical cord blood. The processing fee is Rs 22,000 and the storage fee is Rs 2, 900 per year upto 21 years or more.
Says Harshad Vaid, Operational Head, Life Cell, Delhi, "Over the last year, there has been a steady growth of interest in stem cell banking. When we opened in 2005, we had just 10 sets of parents who wanted to store umbilical cord blood. Now there are over 1500."
However, great as this may sound, many scientists and doctors remain skeptical about the umbilical bank theory.
Despite the fact that stem cell blood can now be used to cure diabetes, bone marrow, heart diseases and nearly 70 types of blood disorders, experts feel that the assurance of the companies may not be fool-proof.
According to Stem Cell expert, Dr Dinesh Pendarkar, every individual requires a minumum amount of cells for treatment and the amount that can be effectively stored at birth may not be enough to cure a disease that may occur when the child is say 18 years old.
There are other drawbacks like the lack of trained personnel. This is important so that the precision of the timing at which the cord should be cut to avoid blood coagulation is adhered to strictly.
Umbilical cord banks are still at a very nascent stage in India and face a tough challenge in a country where advanced medical practices are still looked on with some suspicion.
Reliance life insurance Company Advisor Dhaivat Trivedi Rajkot Branch
Reliance Life Insurance Advisor :- Dhaivat Trivedi For More Detail :- ADDRESS RELIANCE LIFE INSURANCE CO. LTD. PERFECT POINT, 2nd floor, DR YAGNIK ROAD OPP RAM KRISHNA ASHRAM RAJKOT. - 360002Tel : 0281 3018008 ,0281 3018009, 0281 3018010, 0281 3018012
http://reliance-life.blogspot.com/
What they finally settled on was, however, far from any ordinary medical policy.
They decided to enroll into a umbilical cord bank and deposit cord blood that can be stored and used in the future in case their baby is faced with any serious health problems.
"We both know that the blood from the umbilical cord is rich in stem cells that can be later used for curing all kinds of medical disorders and we feel it is a wise investment," says Minisha.
Expectant parents now have the option of using umbilical cord banks to store the stem cells of their babies for a period of 21 years.
The stem cells will be kept in store till the parents or the child (upon reaching the age of 21) decide what it can be used for.
Health experts feel that this is advantageous for two reasons. First the stem cells can be used to cure a number of diseases and should the child fall prey to any disease he has a better chance of recovery.
They also feel that if the child is healthy, then he or she can think about donating the stem cells for furthering scientific research.
The procedure for enrollment at either of the banks - Life Cell in Chennai and Reliance Life in Mumbai - is simple.
An expectant mother can simply fill up a form and get herself enrolled at a cost of Rs 5000.
She is then given a kit containing a plastic bag for storing the umbilical cord blood. The processing fee is Rs 22,000 and the storage fee is Rs 2, 900 per year upto 21 years or more.
Says Harshad Vaid, Operational Head, Life Cell, Delhi, "Over the last year, there has been a steady growth of interest in stem cell banking. When we opened in 2005, we had just 10 sets of parents who wanted to store umbilical cord blood. Now there are over 1500."
However, great as this may sound, many scientists and doctors remain skeptical about the umbilical bank theory.
Despite the fact that stem cell blood can now be used to cure diabetes, bone marrow, heart diseases and nearly 70 types of blood disorders, experts feel that the assurance of the companies may not be fool-proof.
According to Stem Cell expert, Dr Dinesh Pendarkar, every individual requires a minumum amount of cells for treatment and the amount that can be effectively stored at birth may not be enough to cure a disease that may occur when the child is say 18 years old.
There are other drawbacks like the lack of trained personnel. This is important so that the precision of the timing at which the cord should be cut to avoid blood coagulation is adhered to strictly.
Umbilical cord banks are still at a very nascent stage in India and face a tough challenge in a country where advanced medical practices are still looked on with some suspicion.
Reliance life insurance Company Advisor Dhaivat Trivedi Rajkot Branch
Reliance Life Insurance Advisor :- Dhaivat Trivedi For More Detail :- ADDRESS RELIANCE LIFE INSURANCE CO. LTD. PERFECT POINT, 2nd floor, DR YAGNIK ROAD OPP RAM KRISHNA ASHRAM RAJKOT. - 360002Tel : 0281 3018008 ,0281 3018009, 0281 3018010, 0281 3018012
http://reliance-life.blogspot.com/
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