Stemming the tide of disease

Stemming the tide of disease

THAI StemLife lets you bank your own life-saving stem cells.

Wealth may not be enough to rescue you from an incurable disease. But stem cells can. This realisation has led to the growth of an industry called stem cell banking.

The storage tanks where stem cells are kept. THAI StemLife CoLtd runs Thailand’s first privateandlargest family stem cell bank. Itwas founded in 2005as a joint venture of health care providers, Malaysia’s first stem cell bank and hospitals.

As your own biological resource, stem cells can be stored for years and later used to cure untreatable diseases such as those of the bone marrow. Medical advancement now enables painless stem-cell collection from newborn babies as well as adults.

THAI StemLife Co Ltd runs Thailand's first private and largest family stem cell bank. The company was founded in 2005 as a joint venture of Superior Biotech Co Ltd (a private holding company of health care providers), StemLife Sdn Bhd (Malaysia's first stem cell bank), Praram 9 Hospital and Jetanin Hospital.

"We had seen the development of baby stem cells and core blood stem cell banking in the US and Europe and thought that this would be a perfect service for Thailand, since it was not available at that time," said Kostas Papadopoulos, founder of THAI StemLife.

Thailand has always been part of the history of stem cell usage. In 1995, baby stem cells were first used to treat thalassaemia in Thailand. It was also the first country where stem cells from a newborn baby were used to treat thalassaemia in an older sibling.

"Patients with genetic diseases of the bone marrow such as thalassaemia die unless they get stem cells," Dr Kostas said.

Called "master cells", stem cells are among the most powerful cells in the human body. They create new cells that make up and repair organs and tissues.

Moments after a baby is born, blood from the umbilical cord is collected and filtered, leaving behind stem cells to be banked at temperatures below -140C.

Nuttaporn Yupraphat, the company's chief operating officer, said stem cells can also be used to treat leukaemia, cancer, childhood solid tumours, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, metabolic disorders and immunodeficiency diseases.

The Sepax system separates and processes the cells. Called ‘‘master cells’’, stem cells areamong the most powerful cells in thehuman body.Theycreatenew cells thatmakeupand repair organs and tissues.

"Theoretically stem cells can be stored for a thousand years, but in terms of usage they have been tested to cure diseases within 24 years," he said.

Apart from umbilical cord blood, the company also collects stem cells from the circulating blood of adults.

THAI StemLife collects stem cells from 250 hospitals across the country, mainly well-established ones in Bangkok like Bumrungrad. Up to 90% of clients are pregnant mothers, while the rest are health-conscious adults.

Since 2005, 10 cases of illnesses such as thalassaemia and cerebral palsy have been cured in Thailand and abroad using stem cells banked at THAI StemLife.

Dr Kostas said the company also offers genetic risk assessment services, setting it apart from competitors that only focus on banking stem cells.

THAI StemLife invests 10% of revenue in R&D, including research to see how stem cells can be used to treat diseases that are yet untreatable.

Though the number of stem cell collections in the country has grown over the years, the numbers are not where they should be due to a lack of awareness among the Thai public, said Dr Kostas.

Somsak Lolekha, advisory chairman to the president of the Medical Council of Thailand, said that while stem cell collection is prevalent in the United States and elsewhere, there is a far better chance of the cells being used by someone other than the donor.

"Out of the 200,000 to 300,000 samples collected in the US, only one has been successfully used on the donor," he said, noting that private stem cell banking is no longer encouraged in the US.

Stem cells from the donor's body are more prone to getting the body's disease; thus, the donor's stem cells have a better chance at surviving in another body.

Dr Somsak urges people to donate stem cells to the public bank at the Red Cross in order to find a match with patients who need treatment.

So far, stem cells have successfully treated breast cancer, thalassaemia and diseases of the bone marrow, while treating organ tissues, for instance, has been less successful.

There is no guarantee that stem cells stored for decades will be as intact and healthy as when first collected.

"While benefits remain unclear [for donor use], we dont restrict people who want to privately bank their stem cells, as it is their own blood," Dr Somsak said.

THAI StemLife expects revenue growth of 10% this year and high double-digit growth in 2013 with expanded collection of adult stem cells. It foresees plenty of growth in the business, as stem cell collection is involved in less than 1% of the 450,000 births a year in Thailand.

For a period of 20 years, baby stem cells can be banked for 85,000 baht.

Adult stem cell banking is costlier because of the more complicated collection procedures.

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