Now that the legislative session has begun, I want to share with you some of the proposals I have introduced.  In today’s column, I describe a new initiative I have asked the Public Health Committee to introduce to open a public umbilical cord blood bank to promote new treatments for inherited disease.  

Under my proposal, the Connecticut Umbilical Cord Blood Initiative will be a public resource for the treatment of patients with life threatening diseases and debilitating conditions, and for use in advancing basic and clinical research. Pregnant women would have the option of donating umbilical cord blood to this nonprofit legal entity.

I believe this is an important initiative to bring to Connecticut. Usually, umbilical cords are discarded after a baby is born. However, it is now known that umbilical cords are a rich source of unspecialized blood cells, the type of blood cells that produce all other types of blood cells. Like donated bone marrow, umbilical cord blood can be used to treat various genetic disorders, certain types of cancer, such as leukemia, and some inherited body chemistry disorders.  

Right now, Connecticut residents can contract for the services offered by private cord blood banks, for a fee in excess of $3000, to preserve their infant’s cord blood for their own use. My legislation is intended to promote the creation of a public cord blood bank in Connecticut. According to our nonpartisan Office of Legislative Research, at least 11 states, including Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin, have taken some type of action to promote the establishment of cord blood banks.  The public cord bank would share these unspecialized cells for public use and research.

The state of Virginia is considering similar legislation to create a public cord blood bank as a nonprofit legal entity that would collect, screen for infectious and genetic diseases, perform tissue typing on, preserve, and store umbilical cord blood as a public resource for the treatment of patients with life-threatening illnesses or debilitating conditions; for use in advancing basic and clinical research; and, in the event of a terrorist attack, for use in treating injured citizens. If adopted, Virginia’s health commissioner would develop, arrange for, or contract with a nonprofit entity.   I am suggesting we pattern a Connecticut bill after this plan. 

On the federal front, Congress has passed the “Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act of 2005.” This federal legislation authorizes $79 million in federal funding for the collection and storage of cord blood units and the establishment of a public cord blood bank network.  With this federal capability in place, Connecticut will need to pass my legislation to participate.  In addition, we will investigate how Connecticut may access some of these federal funds for the start up costs of the Connecticut Umbilical Cord Blood Bank.

As always, I welcome your ideas and the opportunity hear your concerns and answer your questions regarding this, and other, issues of importance to our state. I can be reached at the Capitol at 1-800-842-1421 or via e-mail at Catherine.Cook@cga.ct.gov. Also, you can follow the legislative process and visit my web page at www.cga.ct.gov.