Press Room

Contact: State Director Peggy Hamill or Director of Legislative Affairs Matt Sande
(262) 796-1111, (262) 352-0890 or info@prolifewisconsin.org

Health Committee to Hear Cord Blood Donation Bill
Cord blood an ethical and proven alternative to embryonic stem cells,
says Pro-Life Wisconsin

The Senate Health Committee will hold a public hearing today at the State Capitol highlighting legislation that will facilitate the donation of newborn umbilical cord blood.

“Ethically uncontroversial, clinically proven cord blood stem cells are adult-type stem cells that have been used to treat many life-threatening diseases,” said Matt Sande, director of legislative affairs for Pro-Life Wisconsin. “This legislation will help to increase the available inventory of cord blood units in Wisconsin and the nation. It will save lives.”

Under the provisions of Senate Bill 127, co-authored by Senator Joe Leibham (R-Sheboygan) and Representative Steve Wieckert (R-Appleton), the principal prenatal health care provider of a pregnant woman would be required to offer her the option to donate blood extracted from the umbilical cord of her newborn child to a blood bank. The offer of an option to donate only applies if the donation is at no monetary cost to the woman, her health insurance provider, or to the hospital in which the delivery will occur for collection or storage. Also, the offer must be made before the potential donor reaches her 35th week of pregnancy.

Medical conditions that can be treated with cord blood include certain types of leukemia, disorders such as Hodgkin’s disease and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, multiple myeloma, breast cancer and sickle-cell anemia. Cord blood is especially powerful in treating sickle cell anemia, a painful blood condition damaging organs and tissues caused by abnormally shaped blood cells.

“Because sickle cell anemia disproportionately affects African-Americans who face difficulty in finding a match, a larger inventory of diverse cord blood units will be of great benefit to these patients,” said Sande.

A South Korean woman paralyzed for twenty years is now walking again after scientists repaired her damaged spine using stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood. Thirty-seven-year-old Hwang Mi-Soon told the media she considered her ability to walk nothing short of a miracle. “I never dreamed of getting to my feet again,” she said. Another remarkable success story is Adam Susser of Florida, a child with cerebral palsy who was cortically blind and could not speak prior to receiving umbilical cord stem cell therapy. He can now both see and speak.

Last week the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released a groundbreaking report called “Cord Blood: Establishing a National Hematopoietic Stem Cell Bank Program.” The report calls for the creation of national network of cord blood stem cell banks.

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