Canadian actress Lisa Ray helps open stem cell storage facility in India
Posted December 19, 2012 6:08 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Canadian actress and cancer survivor Lisa Ray inaugurated a stem cell storage facility in Gurgaon, a suburb of India’s capital New Delhi, on Tuesday.
The LifeCell Stem Cell facility can store up to 200,000 samples. Ray, who successfully fought multiple myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cells, said that such a facility would define healthcare in the future, and be a legacy for generations to come.
“Stem cell technology is going to be the way of the future to treat a variety of diseases. So, why not give the gift of health to your child,” she said.
The actress added that stem cells had helped her during her own treatment for cancer.
“It is because of stem cells that I am alive, and today healthy and today celebrating my marriage and a wonderful professional future. So again I please encourage everyone to support us in the work that we are doing for LifeCell,” she said.
As an actress Ray has appeared in many Bollywood films and TV series. She also hosted season two of Top Chef Canada and has been an advocate for a range of cancer-related campaigns.
Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for 7.6 million deaths in 2008 and predicted to top 13 million in 2030, according to the World Health Organization. Some 70 per cent of deaths occur in low and middle-income countries.
