State Senate Passes Cord Blood Donation Bill
Cord blood an ethical and proven alternative to embryonic stem cells,
says Pro-Life Wisconsin

Today the Wisconsin State Senate unanimously passed legislation that will facilitate the donation of newborn umbilical cord blood in Wisconsin. Senate Bill (SB) 127 now moves to the State Assembly for consideration.

“We applaud the State Senate for passing this life-affirming bill,” said Matt Sande, director of legislative affairs for Pro-Life Wisconsin. “Ethically unproblematic, clinically proven cord blood stem cells are adult-type stem cells that have been used to treat many life-threatening diseases. This legislation will help to increase the available inventory of cord blood units in Wisconsin and the nation. It will save lives, and we thank Senator Leibham for his strong efforts in moving the bill forward.”

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 genetically diverse cord blood units will greatly benefit 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.

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) recently 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 public cord blood stem cell banks. Congressman Christopher Smith (R-NJ) has authored the “Cord Blood Stem Cell Act of 2005” (HR 596) which would create a connected national network of public umbilical cord blood banks. The bill authorizes $15 million in federal funds during Fiscal Year (FY) 2006 and $30 million in FY 2007 to subsidize the collection, processing, testing, freezing and storing of cord blood stem cell units that would then be made publicly available for transplantation.

“Senate Bill 127 dovetails nicely with federal efforts to create a nationwide network of cord blood banks,” said Sande. “Once public umbilical cord banks are up and running throughout the nation, legislation that facilitates cord blood donation will be that much more effective.”

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