Stem cell umbilical cord banks are beginning to pop up all over India, and the government is finally taking notice. This week the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the government body responsible for approving clinical trials and regulating the booming biotech industry, announced
that they are going to create a new system of guidelinesspecifically for the new bio-banking industry.
While the new guidelines show the government is getting serious about ethical considerations, these regulations have little bite. They're guidelines, not law. The ICMR has little ability to punish offending companies who stray from their recommendations. Over the last few weeks I have sent several e-mails to the ICMR to find out if they have made advances in enforcement but they have yet to reply to my inquiries.
