Mon Dec 16 23:51:00 UTC 2024: ## India Launches First Diabetes Biobank to Advance Research
**NEW DELHI, December 17, 2024** – India’s first diabetes biobank, a collaborative effort between the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation (MDRF), has been established in Chennai. This repository will store and distribute biological samples to facilitate advanced research into diabetes, particularly the variations prevalent in the Indian population.
The biobank, detailed in a recent publication in the Indian Journal of Medical Research, contains a wide array of blood samples representing various diabetes types, including Type 1, Type 2, and gestational diabetes. According to Dr. V. Mohan, Chairman of MDRF, the initiative, launched several years ago, aims to identify novel biomarkers for early diagnosis and personalized treatment strategies. The biobank will also support longitudinal studies tracking diabetes progression and its complications.
This development comes amidst a concerning rise in diabetes prevalence in India. A large-scale government study (2008-2020), involving 120,000 individuals across the country, revealed a growing number of cases of diabetes and related metabolic disorders. The biobank includes samples from the ICMR Young Diabetes Registry, focusing on the unique clinical features of diabetes in young Indians. Researchers hope this will yield significant breakthroughs in understanding and treating the disease.
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