LUCKNOW: In less than two months from now, GSVM Medical College in Kanpur is set to become the first government hospital in the country to have the department of regenerative medicine.
The department will be set up after the college is converted to a super-specialty AIIMS-like institute. The process for it is already underway. Recently, principal of the college Dr Arati Dave Lalchandani had a meeting with Union health minister Dr Harshvardhan to finalise the plan.
“We have requested for autonomous institute status. Work is expected to be completed by February,” she said.
The chief advisor to the college for the regenerative medicine department is stem cell research and transplant specialist Dr BS Rajput. An alumnus of the college, Dr Rajput has done pioneering work in the field of regenerative medicine using stem cell therapy.
“Dr Rajput is not charging any fee for his guidance to the institute. It is his way to give back to his alma mater and to Kanpur. His expertise and international experience will be a blessing for our college,” said Dr Lalchandani.
Regenerative medicine can help in treating many incurable diseases as it helps generate new tissue in the body. Any nerve which cannot be sutured or grafted can be generated using stem cell, said neurosurgeon in the college Dr Manish Singh.
“With stem cell therapy, it is possible to treat various muscle and cardiac diseases, diabetes and disability. Spinal cord injury, arthritis and motor neurone diseases can also be treated using bone marrow cell transplant and stem cell therapy,” Dr Rajput told TOI during a recent visit to Lucknow.
The department will especially benefit patients of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a deadly genetic disorder where 99% children die between age of 13 and 23 years. Dr Rajput is currently trating a patient who is 26 years old by regularly administering stem cells for 5 years. DMD is endemic to eastern UP, specially Azamgarh and Jaunpur and also in adjoining districts of Bihar.
“We will also take help from IIT Kanpur for stem cell research. We will imagine and they will manufacture,” said Dr Lalchandani.
The consulting agency for the project is Ernst & Young. The estimated cost of Rs 60 crore will be borne by the institute and the state government.
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