In a recent post, we reported that Virginia passed the Cord Blood Education Bill. Just three short weeks later, two additional states – Ohio and Tennessee – have passed very similar legislation.

 The growing number of states to enact cord blood education legislation stems from the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) 2004 report to Congress. That report highlighted the need to help all expectant parents make an informed choice prior to labor and delivery about the storage or disposal of their newborn’s cord blood stem cells.

The hope is that these new laws will do just that, specifically by:

• Encouraging prenatal care providers to educate expectant parents about their cord blood banking options early enough in pregnancy so that they can make an informed decision about whether to privately bank their child’s newborn stem cells or donate them to a public bank.

• Requiring the state’s Department of Health to publish information on its website about cord blood stem cells and parents’ options for preserving them.

Now a total of 20 states – representing 68% of the U.S. population – have legislation in place endorsing education on cord blood stem cells and the private and public cord blood banking options available to parents.