Copyright 2003 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. All rights reserved.
October 24, 2003
A bipartisan quintet of senators, who are on opposite ends of the spectrum with respect to embryonic stem cell research, have united as co-sponsors of the Cord Blood Stem Cell Act of 2003 (S. 1717). On October 21, Senators Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Chris Dodd (D-CT), Sam Brownback (R-KS), Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) joined in a press conference hailing “a new commitment to developing a national infrastructure of cord blood stem cell collection and research that could, in time, save the lives of thousands of gravely ill Americans.”
The Hatch/Brownback bill would authorize the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)—an arm of the Department of Health and Human Services responsible for improving access to healthcare—to establish and maintain a “National Cord Blood Stem Cell Bank Network” through contracts with existing or new cord blood banks that are certified at the federal and state level. The act would set as a goal the collection of at least 150,000 units of human cord blood stem cells that are genetically diverse to the greatest extent possible.
Blood collected from the umbilical cord and placenta after child birth contains hematopoietic stem cells that are able to differentiate into a number of specialized types of cells such as bone marrow. Since the early 1990s a number of physicians have conducted cord blood transplants on children suffering from diseases such as Leukemia or sickle cell anemia. A number of private cord blood banks have surfaced to meet the growing demand of new parents interested in preserving—for a fee—the cord blood of their newborn babies as a form of private insurance in the event of a debilitating disease.
One problem is that little empirical evidence exists to show that stem cells extracted from a donor’s cord blood can be utilized in a therapy to the same donor. The majority of the successful transplants have involved cord blood from siblings. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) even issued a policy statement that there is “no evidence of the safety or effectiveness of autologous (self) cord blood transplantation for the treatment of malignant [tumors].” Based on existing research in five diseases AAP determined that conventional therapy or transplantation from a related donor is more effective than autologous cord blood transplantation. The statement, however, does encourage the “philanthropic donation of cord blood for banking at no cost for allogeneic (related or unrelated) transplantation” and research.
The Hatch/Brownback bill would be a big step towards expanding public accessibility of therapeutic applications developed by cord blood banks that conduct research. For example, the act would require that up to 10 percent of cord blood collected be available for peer-reviewed research. Furthermore, it would establish a registry system for identifying the blood units in order that health care professionals may easily search for suitable donor matches. Encouraging a genetically diverse collection of samples would improve the odds for positive donor/patient matches. Finally, a Board of Directors composed of physicians, research scientists, patients and representatives from industry would be created to oversee the network.
The Cord Blood Stem Cell Act would provide $15 million in fiscal year 2004 to support its establishment and operation. A companion bill, H.R. 2852, was introduced in July by Rep. Christopher Smith (R-NJ). •••
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Copyright 2003 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. All rights reserved. |