Ohio Senate Should Be Encouraged to Vote on Bi-Partisan Cord Blood Education Bill

PublicAffairs — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 14:52:00 GMT

Expectant parents in Ohio could soon benefit from better information about their options to preserve the stem cells in their baby’s umbilical cord blood if the state Senate passes a well-supported, bi-partisan education bill that has already been passed by the House.

House Bill 102 would require the Ohio Department of Health to provide cord blood banking information and encourage health care professionals to educate parents about the options to preserve the stem cells for family use or donate them for public use.

Similar legislation has already been enacted in 17 other states, yet despite recent legislative advances, published research shows that three out of every four pregnant women consider themselves only “minimally informed” about their cord blood banking options.

Cord blood education is good health policy. In 2004, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies recommended that all pregnant women be educated about cord blood stem cells early enough in pregnancy for them to make an informed decision about the options to preserve these valuable cells.

If you live in Ohio, you can make a difference! Contact your state senator and ask them to support Ohio House Bill 102. You can find information about your state senator and other key senate leaders at www.senate.state.oh.us/senators/. With your help, we can help ensure that more pregnant women receive information about the value of their baby’s cord blood stem cells and their options for preserving them.

The Stem Cell Source : Ohio Department of Health

Ohio Senate Should Be Encouraged to Vote on Bi-Partisan Cord Blood Education Bill