Mar 08, 2016 11:14 AM
23152 Views
Hello people,
I did some research on lifeCell and here is my opinion:
1) First of all, what I find as the silliest thing they have done is in choosing Chennai and Gurgaon as storage sites, both the cities touch a good 40 deg. cel. in summers . And provided that the samples have to be kept under sub -60 deg. cel., the maintenance costs involved in sustaining good quality samples ought to be really very high. Now, how do they provide us the service for a small sum of 50-60K rupees(storage cost for a life time in two sites), is something to be thought about very seriously, yes very seriously, because only a very small percentage of people are going to face the heat( god forbid, how many among us are going to need it?) .
2) The terms and conditions: the agreement that the company makes with you is positively inclined towards them. Here is the essence of it: if the sample is found to be useless while you avail them, the company takes all efforts to find a replacement unit from india or abroad within 14 days, failing to get which, it will provide you with a sum of 20L(again, within 14 days) .
Now people, that is a very dangerous clause - because what you want is the stem cells and not the insurance amount, how on earth do you think can somebody find a donor within 14 days? If it was that easy, why would we ever store the stem cells?
Considering that the business(yes, it is a business too, not just a service after all) which gets little support from the government, is still in its nascent stage, there are not enough laws to protect the consumer interests yet.
3) Now the biggest losers are going to be the ones who opt for life time storage. Because, it is the same clause that is applicable for 21 years, that is applicable for life time storage as well( according to the terms and conditions as of 01-March-2016). The same 20L of consolatory compensation applies there as well . But after 21 years, what is the value of 20L going to be?( considering the inflation at even 6-7% year on year). Now after 21 years, if the sample is found to be unusable, what will I do with 20L( I cant leave it all to fate!), and as per the contract that you sign with the company, you are not entitled to a good usable sample of cord blood which you have paid for . The entire legal conditions favours LifeCell . Now here is the worst possible situation: after 40 years, god forbid, you need to use the sample, but find that it is foul, the company cant find a donor for you within 14 days, and you get 20L, which is equivalent to say, a few lacs then which does not add much to the medical costs associated.
I talked to LifeCell's executive regarding this, and as per the information that I received, the insurance expires in 21 years, and after that you can renew it . This is additional to the cost you spend initially for life time storage. I am not saying that the cost of taking the right kind of insurance is going to be a big amount, but what struck me was that there was no mention of it in the agreement .
To put it plainly, the company says that it will try its best to protect your sample, but if it does not, you cant move a tiny finger against it to protect your rights as a user. The company washes its hands off in 14 days(where they try to provide you with a donor, which is an impossible scenario) and you have to accept the money of 20L and sever ties with them, and no consumer court can help you there.( not to forget the mental state you would be in if you happen to be a prospective user.)
Now, every business needs to have terms and conditions and them writing it in a way to safeguard themselves is no crime, but we should take an informed decision while going for it, better to be safe than sorry.
Moreover, instead of following the herd, if only the really needy people store the stem cells( like those who are genetically predisposed to get a critical illness), we can save this from being another multi-million scam run only for money.
And, I presume that, what some parents said about getting a poor response from the LifeCell team is partially true too, after I posed the question of'no-mention-of-insurance-renewal-after-21 years' clause in the agreement, the person never called back( He gave me the most popular alibi of'having-food-now-shall-call-back-soon', and it has been a week since then) . But I have picked up the hint:'some-questions-are-better-left-unanswered"
I am going to deliver in another few weeks and is also in a dilemma whether to go for it or not . What made me put this hour long lecture into words is the dearth of quality reviews or research on the matter . And, one final word would be that, LifeCell is the only one that I have done some research on, the rest of them I already screened out after reading about the experience of some parents. But it is less likely that I would store my stem cells with them, if at all I do, I will opt for 21 years and then renew it again .
Warm regards,
Sreerekha Menon,
Bangalore,
