Cord-blood bill passed in quiet fashion

"A well-kept secret during the Missouri General Assembly’s regular session this year is being touted as an effort that could help save human lives using umbilical cord blood. Senate bill 323, sponsored by Sen. Matt Bartle, R-Lee’s Summit, would direct grant money to establish umbilical cord blood banks in Missouri and help expand on existing banks, such as the St. Louis Cord Blood Bank at Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital. The bill was signed into law by Gov. Matt Blunt last summer. The law creates a Life Sciences Research Board, which will establish the grant program. To be eligible, a bank must gather, collect and preserve umbilical cord and placental blood only from live births. Cord blood also must be primarily distributed to recipients who are unrelated to the donors. " See the whole story by Jennifer Brinker, Review Staff Writer