Kochi, July 30 Cryobanks International India, a umbilical cord blood stem cell banking company, has set itself a target of collecting 20,000 samples nationally within a year, the company CEO C V Nerikar said today.

" Already 10,000 samples have been collected so far and another 10,000 would be collected in a year&aposs time,"he told reporters here.

The umbilical cord blood is a rich source of stem cells and the bank would help store them from any willing family for a certain fee, he said, adding that the cells would be vital in saving the lives of those suffering from leukaemia, thalassemia, blood cancer and those who need a bone marrow transplant.

The company started operations in Kerala in 2008,opening a branch at Thiruvananthapuram. It now also operates from Kochi, Thrissur and Kottayam. A unit in Kozhikode is also likely to come up.

At present there are 80 centres in India, from which 10,000 samples have been collected in the last two years, he said, adding that the company now has a presence in Tier II and Tier III cities and hopes to have centres in rural areas in a couple of years.