The hospital is organising an international meet on the new-age medical procedure from Monday. In an exclusive interview with MiD DAY, the brain behind the event, Dr DK Gupta, demystifies the path-breaking treatment
The hospital is organising an international meet on the new-age medical procedure from Monday. In an exclusive interview with MiD DAY, the brain behind the event, Dr DK Gupta, demystifies the path-breaking treatment
Stem cells have the potential to cure kidney diseases and doctors world over are pushing the frontiers in this field. Interestingly, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) is spearheading the global study in this field. As it hosts a two-day international meet on new challenges in the study, Dr DK Gupta, a pioneer in this subject and head of the department, pediatric surgery, AIIMS, talks about the benefits of the treatment
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Dr DK Gupta, head of the department, pediatric surgery, AIIMSu00a0PIC/MID DAY
A lot is being said about stem cell research. How does it help us?
Stem cell is a new field in medical science generating interest among researchers and doctors around the globe. Stem cells have the potential to cure many diseases, including kidney failure.
The Department of Pediatric Surgery, AIIMS, is organising a two-day programme on 'Advances in Stem Cell Potentials on Renal Repair and Regeneration' with focus on the role of stem cells in curing acute kidney problems.
The talks and scientific deliberations at the meet will be recorded live. The manuscripts presented at the seminar will be published in the proceedings of the Indian National Science Academy.
Can stem cell treatment help a child too?
Chronic kidney failure in children because of tumors and infection is quite common. And there is no permanent cure for it. Many children die because the disease is detected in its final stages. Then, kidney transplant is the only option. However, renal or kidney transplant is a distant feasibility in babies.
Here, stem cell treatment can step in to save lives.
How are Indian hospitals contributing to this research?
AIIMS is one of the pioneers in this field. The team at Stem Cell Facility, AIIMS, has been studying the potential of the treatment in different areas since 2005. It has an in-house umbilical cord blood bank that harnesses the potential of umbilical cord stem cells. Mothers who have children with congenital anomalies should store their cod blood for future use of the child.
It is considered that the scope of the stem cell is unlimited...
Doctors are trying hard to make this research beneficial for patients. Because of the continued interest in the work, there is a ray of hope. There have been very positive results.
But there are hitches. It is still a challenge to direct the differentiation of embryonic stem cells into specialised cell populations and also to devise ways to control their proliferation once placed in patients.
What type of patients can benefit from stem cell research application?
The scope is wide. Stem cell application can help anybody who is suffering from an incurable disease like liver failure, renal failure, cardiac failure, eye diseases, cancers and diabetes.
We are trying to find out how we can make use of these highly specialised cells available in different parts of the body.
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