SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(a) (1) The blood left in the umbilical cord after a baby has been delivered is a rich source of stem cells known as Hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs) that can be used for transplants for over 70 conditions. These disorders and diseases include all of the following:
(A) Blood cancers such as leukemia, myeloma, and lymphoma.
(B) Immunodeficiencies and genetic diseases, including sickle cell anemia, thalassemia, inherited marrow failure disorders.
(C) Inherited disorders or errors of metabolisms.
(2) Research is underway to study how HPCs can be applied to additional conditions. While stem cells from bone marrow have typically been used for stem cell transplants, umbilical cord blood stem cells have significant advantages over bone marrow.
(b) Umbilical cord blood is typically discarded after a birth. In the last two decades, since determining the viability of using this blood as a source for stem cell transplants, umbilical cord blood began to be banked for future use. Major authorities on the subject, including the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, have stated that the most effective use of umbilical cord blood is to publicly bank this blood so that it can be entered in a national registry, such as the National Marrow Donor Program, to be available for anyone in need.
(c) Efforts are already under
way to increase our national inventory. As of 2007, over 50,000 usable units of umbilical cord blood are in registered inventories. The Institute of Medicine of the National Academies published a roadmap in 2005 to building the inventory, “Cord Blood – Establishing a National Hematopoietic Stem Cell Bank Program” calling for an increase in both the size and the genetic diversity of our inventory. If the inventory is genetically diverse, based on racial and ethnic backgrounds, an inventory with as few as 300,000 units could match almost all in need. With more than 550,000 births a year in California, 300,000 units should not be an insurmountable goal.
(d) Federal legislation (H.R. 2520 – 2005) was enacted to support these efforts. Grants were authorized to six entities, including one bank in California, to build the national inventory with a goal of obtaining an additional 150,000 units. It is the intent of this Legislature to enhance national efforts by adding an increased number
of units from California. The more the inventory mirrors the genetic makeup of our state’s population, the greater the chance our citizens will find a match when they are in need. Every year tens of thousands of Californians needlessly suffer and die from lack of stem cell transplants due to failure to obtain a tissue match.
(e) The greatest challenge is not a lack of potential supply of umbilical cord blood, but rather determining which blood is needed to diversify the inventory and how to target those populations. In 2006, the Institute of Medicine cited a cost of $1,500 to collect, test, and store each unit, and of $500 per collected, but ultimately discarded, unit. Discarded units can be used for research on other potential uses. Collections must be strategic and selective, as there is limited banking capacity, and not everyone who wants to donate will be able to donate.
(f) As part of each contract or
grant, the bank shall demonstrate plans to target populations for education and awareness about public banking of umbilical cord blood.