Article
House Bill 3572, enacted last Session, establishes a grant program for the establishment of an umbilical cord blood bank in Texas. This law will create the only umbilical cord blood bank for unrelated donor blood in the central Southwest United States which will increase the availability of cord blood in Texas and help provide possibly life-saving transplants to residents
Cord blood is the blood that remains in the umbilical cord after a baby is born. This blood contains stem cells which can be extracted at the time of birth, frozen, then stored for future use.
Each year thousands of individuals in the United States are diagnosed with fatal blood-related diseases, such as leukemia and lymphoma. A majority of such cases are treated through bone marrow transplants, yet approximately 10,000 to 15,000 Americans each year who need a bone marrow transplant are unable to find suitable donors. In lieu of a bone marrow transplant, umbilical cord blood, which is rich in stem cells, may be used to treat a variety of these fatal blood-related diseases. Since treatment by umbilical cord blood is not always an option because of the lack of facilities, problematic collection procedures, and costs associated with testing, processing, and storage, this new law will provide start-up funds for entities awarded grants directed by the Health and Human Services Commission. This law requires the cord blood be collected only from live births.
Update on “Baby Moses” law: In 1999, Texas was the first state to pass a “safe haven” law for abandoned infants. Since the law was passed, 35 states have approved similar legislation. Under this law, parents are allowed to leave unwanted, unharmed infants up to 30 days old at hospitals, fire stations, licensed adoption agencies or with EMS personnel without fear of prosecution. Lawmakers in the past Session expanded the age of the baby to 60 days old or younger.
The Baby Moses Foundation has been created and a campaign has begun to publicize the Baby Moses law. For more information, their web page address is www.babymoses.org
If you have comments about, or want more information on this issue, write me at P.O. Box 2910, Austin, Texas, 78768.
Gallery