FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEFrom: Martinez, Eduardo [Eduardo.Martinez@asm.ca.gov]
Sent: Wednesday, September 12, 2007 3:52 PM
Subject: Press Release -- Bill to Establish State's First Public Umbilical Cord Blood Banking Program Clears State Legislature
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Eduardo Martinez
September 12, 2007 916-319-2044
Bill to Establish State’s First Public Umbilical Cord Blood Banking Program Clears State Legislature
California can lead the fight for thousands of patients with blood-related illness such as leukemia and sickle cell anemia if Governor signs AB 34
Sacramento – Early Wednesday morning, by a unanimous vote, the Assembly approved Assembly Bill 34, authored by Assemblymember Portantino (D – La Cañada Flintridge). If enacted, AB 34 establishes a statewide public umbilical blood collection program to promote and collect stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood.
Blood retrieved from the umbilical cord is a rich source of stem cells. Like bone marrow, cord blood can be used to treat various genetic disorders that affect the blood and immune system, leukemia and certain cancers, and other inherited disorders. According to the National Marrow Donor Program, there are 35,000 people who could benefit from marrow or cord blood transplants each year, many of whom die as a result of being unable to find suitable matches. This problem is exacerbated for communities of color who are less likely to find bone marrow matches and suffer from diseases such as sickle cell anemia. Once fully implemented, AB 34 will collect cord blood for widespread public use, but especially in ethnically diverse parts of the state.
Of the 500,000 births in California, umbilical cord blood is collected from a mere 3% of those births.
“This is a huge step forward for thousands of California families who have loved ones suffering from a blood-related disease,” said Portantino. “Since early December, when I introduced this bill, I’ve heard many individual stories about how umbilical cord blood saved their lives. Collecting cord blood is painless, inexpensive, is free from ethical debate, but we lack the public infrastructure to make cord blood widely available. AB 34 will go a long way to making harvesting umbilical cord blood as routine as signing the birth certificate. I’m hopeful we can convince the Governor to sign this important legislation to keep California at the forefront of live-saving technologies.”
AB 34 also addresses a fundamental barrier to cord blood usage: affordability. “When my wife and I tried to donate our daughter’s cord blood, we found it extremely difficult and onerous to do,” explained Portantino. Indeed, commercial blood banks typically charge an initiation fee of between $1000 to $2000 and an annual maintenance fee of between $50 and $150, making cord blood banking unavailable to many Californians. “That experience made me realize that California needed to more to make cord blood as available as it should be to save lives.”
AB 34 has received widespread, strong bipartisan support throughout the legislative process. Sponsored by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, AB 34 has garnered the support of labor organizations, consumer protection groups, for- and non-profit hospitals, Planned Parenthood Affiliates, and organizations that deal directly with afflicted patients such as the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and the National Marrow Donor Program.
The Governor has until October 12th to act on AB 34.
