A new non-profit, Cord Blood California, has been founded in affiliation with the California Medical Association Foundation to promote the public banking of umbilical cord blood (UCB) for medical treatment and research, including research for treatment using UCB stem cells, and UCB storage.

Cord blood, a rich source of stem cells, is currently approved to treat certain types of leukemia, lymphoma, and immune disorders. Umbilical cord blood can be used instead of bone marrow for many stem cell transplants. Research is ongoing to find and approve new uses of the blood, which has many advantages over bone marrow in that it is 100 times easier to match, has a lower risk of graft versus host disease, and is more readily collected than bone marrow, the more currently common treatment for these conditions.

Expectant parents can currently choose to bank this blood privately for personal use by their child or another family member. However, The American Academy of Pediatrics, The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and other medical groups recommend that families donate the cord blood to public banks in most cases where there is not a known or suspected need within the family.

Because umbilical cord blood is so much easier to match than bone marrow, the national inventory needs for UCB are more reasonable. Currently there are approximately 90,000 units nationally. At least another 200,000 units are needed to establish an optimal inventory. As collection, testing and storage are expensive, in order to build the national inventory, the public banks need financial assistance. In 2005 Federal law established the Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act authorizing $79 million for UCB public banking efforts.

As tissue matches are more likely with people of similar genetic backgrounds, and California has a population of great racial and ethnic diversity along with over a half million births annually, it made great sense to focus on California as a source of umbilical cord blood. Recognizing this, in 2007 California Assemblymember Anthony Portantino sponsored AB 34, which created the California Umbilical Cord Blood Collection Program to support the expansion of the public cord blood inventory and registry and ensure that the registry reflects California’s diverse population and meets their needs. With budget cuts occurring at every level, however, the funding needed by these programs to create a self-sustaining inventory and meet patient needs is at risk.

In response to this, Cord Blood California hopes to raise the awareness and private funding to support public banking efforts and make this lifesaving treatment available to patients in need.

Media Contact: Leslie Spaulding, Executive Director, 

Cord Blood California is a project of the CMA Foundation

Saving Cords Saves Lives