On December 16, the Senate approved, by unanimous consent, an amended version of a bill (H.R. 2520) authorizing a cord blood stem cell inventory to collect and maintain blood obtained from umbilical cords. The House approved the Senate amendment, 413-0, on December 17. President Bush signed the bill into law on December 20.
The House first approved H.R. 2520 on May 24 (see The Source, 5/27/05). As amended by the Senate, the bill authorizes $34 million in FY2006 and $38 million through FY2010, instead of $28 million and $32 million respectively, to expand the National Bone Marrow Registry to include information on cord blood transplants. The amendment retains all other provisions in the underlying bill.
Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) stated, “I rise in support of this legislation; however, I am concerned that the other body has chosen to send us only the cord blood bill today. This bill is essentially the same bill that the House passed last May by a vote of 431-1. The legislation is important, and it will help advance medical research, which is why I support it and why we passed it by such an overwhelming majority last spring. What we need to be clear about, though, is what this bill really will and will not do; and we also need to be clear that this bill is not a substitute for embryonic stem cell research, the Castle-DeGette bill (H.R. 810), which is an important bill to advance scientific research to affect diseases that will potentially kill millions of Americans.” She added, “Unlike human embryonic stem cells, stem cells from umbilical cord blood cannot continually reproduce themselves. Instead of proliferating, they quickly evolve into specialized cells…Although some initial experiments appear to be promising, few stem cell researchers now believe that umbilical cords will be a reliable source of replacement cells other than blood cells.”
In response, Rep. Melissa Hart (R-PA) stated, “People talk about all different kinds of stem cell research, but cord blood stem cells are being used today. Cord blood has cured people today. Cord blood, if made available, can cure a whole lot of people tomorrow. It is rich in the type of stem cell that is similar to those found in bone marrow, and bone marrow transplants have been done for years. However, cord blood is better. Physicians tell us that it is a better treatment and a treatment that is more likely to be successful. It makes sense for us in Congress to work hard to try to fund the NIH [National Institutes of Health] to help cure diseases. It will allow more collection of cord blood stem cells. It will allow the collection and storage of those from diverse populations that currently may not be able to access this kind of treatment. It will help many, many more people who can be cured with cord blood to be cured.”
