Stem Cell Therapeutic & Research Act of 2005 – P.2

FROM:NEW YORKBLOODCENTER

Rich Miller-Murphy: 212-570-3101, 917-439-1727

CONTACT:RUBENSTEIN COMMUNICATIONS, INC. - Public Relations

Gladwyn Lopez: 212-843-9231

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

STEM CELL THERAPEUTIC & RESEARCH ACT OF 2005 (HR2520)

BRINGS HOPE TO PATIENTS IN NEED OF A TRANSPLANT

* * *

House Representatives, Cord Blood Scientists and Transplant Recipients Call

on House Legislators to Immediately Pass New Legislation

[Washington, DC – May 23, 2005] – House Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ), lead sponsor,andRepresentative Artur Davis (D-AL), lead co-sponsor of the Stem Cell Therapeutic & Research Act of 2005 (HR2520), along with cord blood transplant recipients and scientists today called on the House to immediately pass this legislation to help save the lives of thousands who needlessly die each year. These patients are waiting to receive bone marrow transplants but often do not find a suitable donor.

“Amazingly we are on the threshold of systematically turning medical waste—umbilical cords and placenta—into medical miracles for huge numbers of very sick and terminally ill patients, who suffer from such maladies as leukemia and sickle cell anemia,” said Rep. Smith.

During the press conference, Rep. Smith and Rep. Davis announced details on this new stem cell legislation, which was introduced today in the 109th Congress and co-sponsored with unprecedented

bi-partisan support. Passage of the bill would create a national program—the Bill Young Cell Transplantation Program—to build a ready-to-use inventory of at least 150,000 top quality units to make matched stem cells available to transplant patients of all ethnic groups. The bill will also enable research by scientists and doctors.

Every year several thousand US children and adults develop a lethal disease like leukemia, lymphoma, aplastic anemia and certain inherited diseases of the blood and immune system that can only be cured with a marrow transplant. An estimated 20,000 have no relative who can give them matched bone marrow. Most of these cannot find a suitable unrelated donor among the several million volunteer donors in marrow donor registries. Further, many patients are not aware that cord blood stem cells may be a viable alternative treatment for their conditions.

Cord blood, donated by the mother, is a non-controversial source of stem cells which, unlike bone marrow, can be collected without risk of any kind to donors. It is then stored frozen, in fully viable condition, ready to be used at any time for a transplant. Another advantage of cord blood is that it does not require as exact of a match with the patient’s tissue type as a bone marrow transplant. Thus, patients with uncommon tissue types, as is the case for many persons in ethnic minority groups, are able to find appropriate, though less than full, matches. The pending federal legislation will help create a large inventory of high quality cord blood units so that nearly all patients have a chance to find a well-matched cord blood graft.

“We applaud Congressmen Smith and Davis for their sponsorship of this bill,” said Robert L. Jones, MD, President of New YorkBloodCenter. “They both have been, and continue to be, strong advocates in the fight to save lives through cord blood transplants.”

To help build a cord blood inventory, the cord-blood-stem-cell portion of this bill will provide $79 million in Federal funding to increase the number of cord blood units available to treat patients. The goal is to reach a total inventory if 150,000 units so that matched stem cells will beavailable to treat more than 90% of patients, with a special focus on providing units for diverse patient populations.

“No patient in need should have to go without a transplant,” said Dr. Pablo Rubinstein, Director of NYBC’s National Cord Blood Program. “Cord Blood is an option for children and adults alike, and by passing this bill, legislators will take a giant leap in fulfilling that goal and saving countless lives.”

“If it wasn’t for cord blood I wouldn’t be here, I’d probably be dead. It’s a good thing I found a match, it saved my life,” said 19-year-old Keone Penn, who was cured of sickle cell anemia in December of 1998.Pennwas joined by other transplant recipients who also recounted their stories.

Stephen Sprague, cured of leukemia said, “Unable to find a suitable bone marrow donor, I was told in 1997 to get my affairs in order. I was lucky to find a cord blood match and became one of the first cord blood transplant recipients.” He added, “With the passage of this legislation, patients won’t have to be lucky to find a match. They will have the advantage of a cord blood inventory created by design, not by chance. Patients will soon have another option and new hope.”

22-year-old Jaclyn Albanese,also cured of leukemia said, “I just graduated from RutgersUniversity this month. If it wasn’t for the National Cord Blood Program at New YorkBloodCenter, I have no idea what kind of shape I’d be in right now. I am thankful for them and all the new research being put into cord blood transplants.”

For more information, visit the National Cord Blood Program’s informational website at

*PHOTO(S) AVAILABLE* High resolution, publication-ready photos supporting this story are available for free editorial use at:

###

The New YorkBloodCenter’s National Cord Blood Program (NCBP) pioneered banking cord blood for use in clinical transplantation. More than 28,000 mothers have donated their baby’s cord blood to the Program, which has provided cord blood transplants to more than 1,700 patients around the world.

New York Blood Center (NYBC), one of the nation’s largest community blood organizations has been providing blood, transfusion products and services to patients in New York and New Jersey hospitals since 1964. The New YorkBloodCenter is also home to the Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute and the National Cord Blood Program, the nation’s first and largest public cord blood bank. New YorkBloodCenter operates a Clinical Services division as well as a Hemophilia Services division in collaboration with the Hemophilia Consortium - providing critical drugs and blood products delivered to the homes of area hemophilia patients. New YorkBloodCenter is not affiliated with the American Red Cross.