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CHILDREN AND ADULTS MIGHT NOW BE SAVED
FROM LIFE THREATENING DISEASES: “CORD
BLOOD” TRANSPLANT CENTER BILL SIGNED
INTO LAW TODAY
FROM THE OFFICE OF:
SENATOR NANCY JACOBS, MINORITY LEADER,
(R-Harford/Cecil)
May 19, 2011
 An elementary school child faces a bleak
future due to sickle cell anemia…yet his
life is saved by a transplant of his
older brother’s umbilical cord blood,
saved and stored at birth. That happened
in a hospital in another state, but
using these stem cells to save Maryland
patients has been difficult and
expensive for families here. Transplants
for adults can only be performed in
other states like Texas and California.
Now the costs will go down and Maryland
families may soon be able to have those
transplants performed right here.
Senator Nancy Jacobs, Minority Leader,
sponsored a bill to do that and it’s
signed into law today by the Governor.
Cord blood transplants have been very
successful for a number of diseases
including leukemia and sickle cell
anemia. In October Mercy Medical Center
began allowing families to donate their
baby’s cord blood at birth. Three
medical facilities in the state are
approved by the National Marrow Donor
Program to perform cord blood
transplants, but two were not interested
in making that treatment available to
adults and the third, NIH only treats
patients as part of a clinical trial.
With this new law private funding and
grants will be available to make that a
more appealing option for those
hospitals.
Senator Jacobs first passed a bill
requiring Maryland mothers be told when
delivering their babies that they could
donate cord blood. This is another major
step forward in saving the lives of
Marylanders who could be saved by those
donations.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL:
Suzanne Collins
Chief of Staff
Senator Nancy Jacobs
Minority Leader, |
