All three states have just passed legislation advocating for expectant parents to be educated about cord blood stem cells. Florida Senate Bill 720, Missouri House Bill 197 and North Dakota Senate Bill 2215 will require each state’s Department of Health to provide educational materials to the public about cord blood stem cells and parents’ options for preserving these cells. The laws will also encourage prenatal care providers to educate expectant parents about cord blood so that they can make an informed decision about whether to privately bank their child’s stem cells or donate them to a public bank. 

Published data shows that 3 out of every 4 pregnant women consider themselves only “minimally informed” about cord blood banking.  But a growing number of states are hoping to change this statistic.

Now 23 states -- representing 75% of births in the U.S. -- benefit from state-endorsed education on cord blood stem cells and the private and public cord blood banking options available to parents. 

According to Senator Anitere Flores (R-Miami), co-sponsor of Florida Senate Bill 720:

“Families across the entire country need to know that their child’s cord blood is a life-saving asset.  The stem cells that are found in cord blood are saving lives and are helping people.  This is something that’s important for every family, not just because of the technology and science that’s existing today, but the potential future therapies that might be included over the next several generations of those stem cells.  The most important decision parents can make is ‘What can I do to keep my baby safe, not just today, but in the next 10, 20 or 30 years,’ - and storing your cord blood is one of those things.”