Stem Cell Research: Advantage India akshmi, a 28-year-old woman
from Guntur finds it hard to forget June 19, 2009. That was the
day she became a victim of an acid attack. Her face was burnt
and the eye damaged. Unless she manages a cornea donation, her
loss is likely to be permanent. For Lakshmi and others like her,
the work that is being done in L.V. Prasad Eye Institute,
Hyderabad, can mean a rescue from blindness. If the Eye
Institute keeps to its path of progress in stem cell research,
Lakshmi could grow her cornea back. “We have tackled almost 600
such cases using stem cells from corneal epithelium,” says D.
Balasubramanian, director of research, L.V. Prasad Eye
Institute. A combination of factors have made India one of the
hotbeds of stem cell research in the world, with both the
government and private firms working in very interesting areas
to win the sweepstakes of life as it were. The world over, stem
cells have been touted as the new medical technology with
potential to change the way healing happen