Jaipur: The Sawai Man Singh (SMS) medical college here willset up a stem cell research laboratory by April to undertake research inbiotechnology, genetics and stem cells.

The laboratory, to be part of an advance research laboratoryto come up in the state government-run institute, has been taken up under anRs.70 million-project approved by the central government's department ofscience and technology.

Ashok Pangariya, principal of the SMS college, told sources,"Not only would it enhance the diagnostic facilities in the city, the stemcell research would also make treatment of degenerative diseases easier."

The laboratory would provide a platform to the college facultyto understand the advances in research on diseases, he said. A special stemcell bank would also be created at the medical college.

The department of gynaecology, the central blood bank andthe stem cell research lab would jointly run the bank, with a total estimatedcost of Rs.30 million.

A proposal comprising as many as six projects on stem cellresearch had been sent to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). ICMRhas already approved the first phase of the project.

The research projects sent to ICMR cover spinal cord injury,cancer, plastic surgery, urology, the cornea and multiple sclerosis.

Revised projects would be taken by ICMR in its next meetingscheduled in the third week of this month. Stem cells are primal cells commonto all multi-cellular organisms that retain the ability to renew themselvesthrough cell division and can differentiate into a wide range of specialisedcell types.

Medical researchers believe that stem cell therapy has thepotential to radically change the treatment of human diseases. A number ofadult stem cell therapies exist, particularly bone marrow transplants.

A multi-disciplinary committee has also been constitutedunder the chairmanship of Adarsh Bhargava (gynaecology) to look into theethical, legal, scientific and technical issues related to stem cell research.