Patna, July 28 - Cryobanks International India, a cord blood stem cell banker, is eying to expand its network in Bihar where awareness of stem cell banking is still very low, a company official said.

'We will expand our network across the state to create more awareness among people to come forward for stem cell banking,' company's marketing head Ashim Ghazi said.

He said till now 18 to 20 umbilical cord blood stem cells were collected from Bihar on an average per month. 'So far about 200 parents have stored samples of umbilical cord blood stem cells.'

Ghazi said 14,000 of 35,000 samples collected for stem cell banking in India were with Cryobanks International India.

Falgun Sah, medical adviser of Cryobanks International India, said nearly 10,000 people across the world were being treated through stem cell therapy but in India the number is as low as 25 to 30.

Cryobanks International India provides a programme for families that wish to store their baby's stem cells and another for those who prefer to donate.