Bill to jump-start funding for moral stem cell source passes

By Brigid Curtis Ayer

Umbilical cord blood
Umbilical cord blood is one of three sources for the blood-forming cells used in transplants. The other two sources are bone marrow and peripheral (circulating) blood.
The first cord blood transplant was done in 1988. Cord blood plays an important role in transplants today.
Doctors are still learning about the ways cord blood transplants are similar to and different from marrow or peripheral blood transplants.
Umbilical cord blood is collected from the umbilical cord and placenta after a baby is born. This blood is rich in blood-forming cells. The donated cord blood is tested, frozen and stored at a cord blood bank for future use. The stored cord blood is called a cord blood unit.
(Source: National Marrow Donor Program)

A bill to jump-start public funding for umbilical cord blood donations, a morally acceptable source for stem cells, has passed both the Indiana House and Senate. The successful votes were 97-1 in the House and 45-1 in the Senate.

House Bill 1348, authored by Rep. Peggy Welch (D-Bloomington), lays a foundation for a public umbilical cord blood bank program.

The measure does two things. It authorizes the Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) to apply for a Medicaid waiver from the federal government to reimburse doctors who collect cord blood from Medicaid recipients upon the birth of a newborn. It also requires FSSA to make an oral report to the Health Finance Commission on progress in developing a statewide cord blood collection program prior to the 2008 legislative session.

Half of all children born in Indiana are births to Medicaid recipients.

Rep. Welch, a practicing nurse in the cancer unit at Bloomington Hospital, said she’s always had an interest in health issues. As a cancer nurse, she’s had a particular interest in stem-cell research and the promise it offers cancer victims, she said.

She became interested in starting a public cord blood bank program in Indiana when a friend from her parish wanted to make a cord blood donation, but her friend learned there was no way to make a public donation.

Rep. Welch said that private donations of umbilical cord blood can be made for about $1,000 plus an annual storage fee of $100, but there is no provision for public donations.

“What’s really exciting about this bill is the discussion that has been created,” Rep. Welch said. “Hospitals, doctors, researchers and corporate people are now talking about the possibility of creating a public cord blood bank.

“Indiana is a leader in cancer research and life science, and has a real potential to become a global leader in cord blood, too.”

Many believe stem cells only come from embryos, but Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk, a leading national

stem-cell expert, told Indiana legislators in 2005 that stem cells can be taken from umbilical cords, the placenta, amniotic fluid, adult tissues, organs and bone marrow. He also said they could come from the fat from liposuction, regions of the nose and even cadavers up to 20 hours after death.

There are four categories of stem cells. They are: 1) embryonic stem cells; 2) embryonic germ cells; 3) umbilical cord stem cells; and 4) adult stem cells. Father Pacholczyk says that since embryonic germ cells can come from miscarriages where no deliberate interruption of pregnancy occurs, three of the four categories (umbilical cord stem cells and adult stem cells as well) are potentially morally acceptable, and the Church vigorously encourages research in these areas.

Umbilical cord blood is a rich source for stem cells and a moral, noncontroversial option which can be used for bone marrow transplants.

Private and public umbilical cord blood banks have proven invaluable to the medical community. Many blood and immune diseases have been successfully treated using cord blood. Doctors use cord blood cells to treat about 70 diseases, mostly anemias or cancers of the blood, such as leukemias and lymphomas.

Sen. Patricia Miller (R-Indianapolis), who chairs the Senate Health Committee and is expected to chair the Health Finance Commission this year, said, “There are two reasons for this bill: to use the cord blood for research, and if there is enough blood left over, it can be used normally as blood is used.

“Indiana’s on the cutting edge on this issue. Clearly, cord blood stem cells are a moral, noncontroversial route to a source of stem cells,” she said. “It’s exciting to see a lot of people interested in the cord blood issue. They range from the I.U. Medical Center and Clarian Hospital, to biotechnology companies and research companies.”

Julie Halbig, an associate at Hall Render Killilan Heath Lyman who represents the Indiana Hospital and Health Association, said, “This bill is the first step for Indiana to begin looking at ways to develop a statewide cord blood program. The goal with this bill eventually will be to raise the awareness that cord blood banking is available to expectant mothers.”

(Brigid Curtis Ayer is a correspondent for The Criterion.) †