CHENNAI: Those of us who have watched films like Forever Young and thought immortality would be a distinct possibility through freezing stem cells that would regenerate body parts, as and when they needed replacement, can now take heart. Stemade, the country’s first and only dental stem bank had made its foray into the city, less than a year after making its debut in Mumbai. The process is fairly simple, says Dr R Gunaseelan, oral surgeon, Rajan Dental Institute, as it involves the extraction of stem cells from the dental pulp inside teeth.What is the need for extraction? “Extensive research has been done in the area of regeneration of organs and tissues from stem cells,” says Dr Anand Sajnani, a Medical Consultant with the company. In the future, if the subject requires some organ, and technology is available, then the stem cells will be available to regenerate it. Though the regeneration is only autologous (can be used for the same person), in the future, it may be useful to help closely related persons as well, he adds.“The extraction process is very easy in children because milk teeth are rich in dental pulp and fall of their own accord,” says Gunsaseelan. The process can be a little painful in adults because there is a tendency for teeth to either be affected by dental issues besides the pain of extraction. Once the tooth is out, extracting the stem cells is done at their facility here near Perungalathur. This will be stored by the company in deep-freeze for any amount of time. While the initial registration will cost Rs 50,000, the storage will work out to be Rs 500 per month or less.
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