This article reinforces my opinion that you should not rely on the government for information nor your own physician it appears.
By Angela Townsend, The Plain Dealer
December 29, 2009
What is cord blood?
Cord blood is the blood found in the umbilical cord and placenta, which usually are discarded after a normal, full-term birth. The blood is filled with adult stem cells, similar to those found in bone marrow.
Why is it useful?
Cord blood can be used instead of bone marrow for transplantation. It also can be used in research and for therapeutic purposes in blood-related cancers. It has the potential to be used in treatment of spinal cord injuries, diseases involving the immune system, diabetes, neurodegenerative disease and other life-threatening ailments.
Are cord-blood cells the same as embryonic stem cells?
No. The cells from cord blood come from the umbilical cord and placenta. Embryonic stem cells come from embryos that have been fertilized in a lab or clinic and then donated for research.
How many cord-blood units are available?
An estimated 150,000 donated units are in public banks and available through the "Be The Match" Registry, which is run by the National Marrow Donor Program.
Are there any risks to donating cord blood?
No. Because the baby is no longer attached to the umbilical cord and placenta when the blood is collected, cord-blood donation doesn't require the donor to undergo a medical procedure.
What happens to cord blood after it is collected?
The cord blood is taken to the center, where it is screened for infectious diseases. After determining that enough cells exist for donation, the unit is reduced in size -- in a pouch about half the size of a business card -- and frozen in a large vat.
Ohio could be on the verge of being the 18th state to pass legislation requiring physicians to give expectant mothers information on banking umbilical-cord blood, which is used to treat diseases of the blood and immune system and shows potential in treating other life-threatening ailments.
But it looks as if politics might get in the way.
The proposed law, introduced last year by Rep. Todd Book, a southern Ohio Democrat, would require the state department of health to post information on its Web site about banking cord-blood stem cells. Health care professionals also would be required to notify expectant mothers about the option by their third trimester.
"We want parents to know about banks out there, that they're a very valuable tool when it comes to health care," Book said.
House members unanimously passed HB 102, or the "Informed Choice" bill, as did the Senate Health Committee. All that waits now is a floor vote in the Senate.
And that's the problem.
The current political climate in Columbus is such that neither side is looking to pass bills introduced by the other side, resulting in a legislative gridlock that has ensnared Book's legislation in the Republican-controlled Senate.
Book says he is frustrated but is still hopeful that the bill will be passed before it expires at the end of 2010, which also will signal the end of his time in office because of term limits.
"It doesn't cost much, if anything," Book said. "It can provide a lot of valuable information [through educational materials such as DVDs and brochures] and maybe save money in the future."
The Cleveland Cord Blood Center, one of 22 public cord-blood banks in the country's National Marrow Donor Program network, stands ready to work with the state on informing the public.
The center, which opened in October 2007, collects cord blood from babies born at Fairview and Hillcrest hospitals, and plans to expand to MetroHealth Medical Center during the first half of 2010 for parents who wish to donate their babies' cord blood.
Patients at University Hospitals MacDonald Women's Hospital and two Ohio other hospitals are able to donate cord blood at three other public blood-bank programs in the country.
Public banks like the one in Cleveland do not charge a storage fee. They are listed on a U.S. and international registry for use around the world. Private cord-blood banks charge upward of $2,000, plus an annual storage fee, and are for the exclusive use of the donor's family.
Having a platform to educate the public is important, given that misperceptions still exist, said Dave Clements, spokesman for the Cleveland center.
"We're not killing embryos," said Clements, who has met with Republican leaders to speed up the process of passing the bill. "We're taking a product that was medical waste and finding another use for it."
Cord blood may have saved the life of Nathan Mumford of Cleveland Heights, who in August 2004 was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia at age 24.
Because a bone marrow donor couldn't be found, Mumford's physician, Dr. Mary Laughlin -- an expert in cord-blood stem-cell transplants and research, and founder and medical director of the Cleveland Cord Blood Center -- told him about another treatment she wanted to try.
Mumford underwent a cord-blood transplant in November 2004. "It was kind of a wait-and-see thing to see if the blood would [be compatible] with my organs," he said.
Today, Mumford, 29, is cancer-free.
When the daughter of Lisa and Tom Furnas of Highland Heights was born in April 2006, they banked her cord blood in case she or her older brother ever had a medical need for it. They chose the California-based Cord Blood Registry, which has a storage facility in Tucson, Ariz.
The Furnases had wanted to do the same thing when their son was born eight years earlier in California, but their OB-GYN at the time discouraged them from what was a new procedure at that time.
"My recollection was that he said his concern was to be taking care of me, not on [collecting cord blood]," Lisa Furnas said.
The proposed bill, sitting idle in the Ohio legislature, would go a long way toward preventing that same scenario from happening again, proponents say.
"Ninety-five percent of cord-blood units are being discarded," Clements said. "Obviously the message isn't getting out there."
By Angela Townsend, The Plain Dealer
December 29, 2009
What is cord blood?
Cord blood is the blood found in the umbilical cord and placenta, which usually are discarded after a normal, full-term birth. The blood is filled with adult stem cells, similar to those found in bone marrow.
Why is it useful?
Cord blood can be used instead of bone marrow for transplantation. It also can be used in research and for therapeutic purposes in blood-related cancers. It has the potential to be used in treatment of spinal cord injuries, diseases involving the immune system, diabetes, neurodegenerative disease and other life-threatening ailments.
Are cord-blood cells the same as embryonic stem cells?
No. The cells from cord blood come from the umbilical cord and placenta. Embryonic stem cells come from embryos that have been fertilized in a lab or clinic and then donated for research.
How many cord-blood units are available?
An estimated 150,000 donated units are in public banks and available through the "Be The Match" Registry, which is run by the National Marrow Donor Program.
Are there any risks to donating cord blood?
No. Because the baby is no longer attached to the umbilical cord and placenta when the blood is collected, cord-blood donation doesn't require the donor to undergo a medical procedure.
What happens to cord blood after it is collected?
The cord blood is taken to the center, where it is screened for infectious diseases. After determining that enough cells exist for donation, the unit is reduced in size -- in a pouch about half the size of a business card -- and frozen in a large vat.
Ohio could be on the verge of being the 18th state to pass legislation requiring physicians to give expectant mothers information on banking umbilical-cord blood, which is used to treat diseases of the blood and immune system and shows potential in treating other life-threatening ailments.
But it looks as if politics might get in the way.
The proposed law, introduced last year by Rep. Todd Book, a southern Ohio Democrat, would require the state department of health to post information on its Web site about banking cord-blood stem cells. Health care professionals also would be required to notify expectant mothers about the option by their third trimester.
"We want parents to know about banks out there, that they're a very valuable tool when it comes to health care," Book said.
House members unanimously passed HB 102, or the "Informed Choice" bill, as did the Senate Health Committee. All that waits now is a floor vote in the Senate.
And that's the problem.
The current political climate in Columbus is such that neither side is looking to pass bills introduced by the other side, resulting in a legislative gridlock that has ensnared Book's legislation in the Republican-controlled Senate.
Book says he is frustrated but is still hopeful that the bill will be passed before it expires at the end of 2010, which also will signal the end of his time in office because of term limits.
"It doesn't cost much, if anything," Book said. "It can provide a lot of valuable information [through educational materials such as DVDs and brochures] and maybe save money in the future."
The Cleveland Cord Blood Center, one of 22 public cord-blood banks in the country's National Marrow Donor Program network, stands ready to work with the state on informing the public.
The center, which opened in October 2007, collects cord blood from babies born at Fairview and Hillcrest hospitals, and plans to expand to MetroHealth Medical Center during the first half of 2010 for parents who wish to donate their babies' cord blood.
Patients at University Hospitals MacDonald Women's Hospital and two Ohio other hospitals are able to donate cord blood at three other public blood-bank programs in the country.
Public banks like the one in Cleveland do not charge a storage fee. They are listed on a U.S. and international registry for use around the world. Private cord-blood banks charge upward of $2,000, plus an annual storage fee, and are for the exclusive use of the donor's family.
Having a platform to educate the public is important, given that misperceptions still exist, said Dave Clements, spokesman for the Cleveland center.
"We're not killing embryos," said Clements, who has met with Republican leaders to speed up the process of passing the bill. "We're taking a product that was medical waste and finding another use for it."
Cord blood may have saved the life of Nathan Mumford of Cleveland Heights, who in August 2004 was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia at age 24.
Because a bone marrow donor couldn't be found, Mumford's physician, Dr. Mary Laughlin -- an expert in cord-blood stem-cell transplants and research, and founder and medical director of the Cleveland Cord Blood Center -- told him about another treatment she wanted to try.
Mumford underwent a cord-blood transplant in November 2004. "It was kind of a wait-and-see thing to see if the blood would [be compatible] with my organs," he said.
Today, Mumford, 29, is cancer-free.
When the daughter of Lisa and Tom Furnas of Highland Heights was born in April 2006, they banked her cord blood in case she or her older brother ever had a medical need for it. They chose the California-based Cord Blood Registry, which has a storage facility in Tucson, Ariz.
The Furnases had wanted to do the same thing when their son was born eight years earlier in California, but their OB-GYN at the time discouraged them from what was a new procedure at that time.
"My recollection was that he said his concern was to be taking care of me, not on [collecting cord blood]," Lisa Furnas said.
The proposed bill, sitting idle in the Ohio legislature, would go a long way toward preventing that same scenario from happening again, proponents say.
"Ninety-five percent of cord-blood units are being discarded," Clements said. "Obviously the message isn't getting out there."