In India, for the first time in history, a diabetes biobank has been set up in Chennai, a great initiative by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation (MDRF); jointly. Its main work is to manage research & development (R&D) so that a better cure for diabetes can be found.
This biobank will collect, process, store, and distribute biological specimens so that there can be explicit scientific research on this disease. About two years ago, this diabetes biobank idea came into play in India. According to sources, there are over 10 crore diabetes cases and 13.6 crore pre-diabetes cases in India. These numbers are alarming and also the highest for any country in the world. Due to such a high number of diabetic patients, India is sometimes referred to as the “Diabetes capital of the world”. The reason for such high numbers are lack of awareness among Indians about diabetes and the lifestyle of Indian people.
According to the chairman of MDRF, D V Mohan, the biobank will also help to identify the causes of diabetes and other related disorders. For the purpose of advanced research, it also stores a number of blood samples of younger diabetic individuals, like Type 1, Type 2, and gestational diabetes. In India, the diabetes rate has shown quite a rise in the last couple of decades. Let’s hope, this diabetes biobank will help Indians to control diabetes disease, in the future.
