Several members of the Connecticut state legislature from both political parties are taking the initiative in launching a public discussion on the role of umbilical cord blood banking and its benefits. On February 1, 2010 a group of state legislators and medical experts gathered in Hartford for a bipartisan coalition on the importance of cord blood education and cord blood banking.

As just one of seventeen states requiring physicians to inform their patients about the availability of cord blood banking and its benefits, Connecticut is at the forefront of a revolutionary new industry that uses the science of stem cells, harvested from the umbilical cord blood of newborns to treat a variety of ailments. From leukemia, to diabetes, to neurological diseases such as multiple sclerosis and cerebral palsy and even heart disease, umbilical cord blood which is rich in embryonic stem cells, has been shown to be beneficial for treatment.

A year ago hard work by Sen. Fasano, Sen. Harris, Sen. Debicella, Rep. Ritter and Rep. Giegler resulted in a major bill addressing public health (PA 09-232) which requires healthcare providers to give pregnant women appropriate information on cord blood banking in a timely manner to allow them the opportunity to save their baby’s umbilical cord blood at delivery.

By pointing to cord blood education and cord blood banking as critical science needed for the treatment of important health issues, these state legislators welcomed Dr. Charles Lockwood, a world renowned maternal fetal medicine specialist from Yale University School of Medicine, to discuss the importance of patient education and the cord blood banking issues currently facing Connecticut and the entire country. Dr. Lockwood pointed out the crisis facing both the state and the nation. The crisis is a lack of readily available stems cells for African America and other minorities. Without a state supported bank to store these cells, the people who have the greatest need are the less likely to be able to access these new technologies.

Also participating in the forum are Glen and Kristina Mitchell who created the Kasey Rose Foundation. Their daughter, Kasey Rose, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia. Following several rounds of chemotherapy, she was treated with banked and donated umbilical cord blood stem cells. Sen. Fasano met the Mitchell and became publicly support of legislation on umbilical cord blood education and cord blood banking.

As the leading Republican Rep. Giegler has pointed out banking of umbilical cord blood and the availability of stems cells is much like the donor pool for bone marrow. The public needs to know how the importance of this new life saving technology.