CORDLIFE Group, a provider of umbilical cord blood and tissue banking services, announced that its Indian subsidiary, Cordlife Sciences India, has introduced an advanced non-invasive metabolic screening service.

Known as MetaScreen, it is a set of metabolic screening test specially designed for both newborn babies and adults, and is able to detect up to 110 inborn errors of metabolism from urine samples.

The firm said metabolic disorders are usually not apparent at the time of birth.

If left untreated, the baby can develop irreversible damages like neurological impairment and physical deformities.

Cordlife expects the service to enable it to capitalise on the fast-rising India middle class, whose population is expected to grow 67 per cent to 267 million by 2015.

Chief executive of Cordlife, Mr Jeremy Yee, said: "The introduction of MetaScreen in India is in line with our plans to grow through complementary services and through partnerships and collaborations."