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SPEAKOUT: Bill would aid adult stem cell therapies

By Rep. Dianne Primavera

Published April 4, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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Today, we're closer to curing certain types of cancer than ever before. Treatments for other illnesses, including sickle cell anemia and cerebral palsy may be just around the corner too. Why? Adult stem cell transplants - which could prove to be one of the greatest medical innovations in modern history - are now a reality. And new legislation would help make adult stem cell transplants available to all Coloradans.

That's great news for people like Sheila Gannon. Three years ago, Sheila was diagnosed with advanced leukemia. Eight months pregnant, Sheila's condition was serious. Doctors decided to deliver her baby soon after she was diagnosed. Then, her doctors at Presbysterian St. Lukes Hospital did something they had never done before; they treated her with an adult stem cell transplant using stem cells from two different umbilical cords. It saved her life. It's been two years since her stem cell transplant, and she has no signs of leukemia.

I've introduced House Bill 1372, unique legislation to help make this type of treatment more widely available. The bill would create the Colorado Stem Cells Cure Fund. The legislation, which is the first of its kind in the country, would allow women across Colorado to donate their life-saving stem cells to a public bank here in Colorado and make those stem cells available to sick patients anywhere in the world.

Adult stem cell transplants present doctors, researchers and patients with a thrilling prospect. The life-giving stem cells are easily collected from umbilical cord blood after birth. Unfortunately, right now, the vast majority of these stem cells are discarded as medical waste.

The process of taking adult stem cells from cord blood is painless and does not interfere with birth. Once collected, the blood is tested, coded and stored in a national database, which can be accessed whenever someone needs a transfusion.

Adult stem cells stay viable for many years. And they offer hope to thousands of people in the state and millions worldwide. Stem cells not viable for transplant can be used for medical research to discover exciting new cures and uses.

Many different types of stem cells have been identified in cord blood. Adult stem cell transplants have been used to treat diseases as diverse as cerebral palsy and sickle cell anemia. However, the predominant use today is the treatment of leukemia.

Every year, 20,000 patients are diagnosed with leukemia. Existing treatments - such as bone marrow transplants - are difficult to perform and require perfectly-matched donors.

Cord blood is rich in blood-forming stem cells that can reconstitute a patient's bone marrow after chemotherapy. Eight thousand transplants - 400 from Colorado cord blood units - have already been performed across the country. But more must be done: one estimate suggests as many as one in 100 Coloradans will need a stem cell or bone marrow transplant during their lifetime.

Colorado is lucky: It's one of seven states that has a federally funded, public cord blood bank. Additionally, The Children's Hospital, University of Colorado Hospital and Presbyterian/ St. Luke's Medical Center all have renowned stem cell transplant programs. But we can do better.

This legislation will ensure that any woman who gives birth in Colorado will have the option to donate her umbilical cord blood to the Colorado Cord Blood Bank.

The program will be financed through an income tax checkoff. It will dedicate significant resources to the Department of Public Health and Environment to facilitate the donation and collection of umbilical cords across the state. This would mark the advent of the first-ever statewide collection program, and could significantly increase the pool of available stem cells in Colorado.

We have it within our reach to turn medical waste into a life-saving stem cell therapy. Sheila Gannon is living proof of the potential for adult stem cell therapy.

Democratic Rep. Dianne Primavera represents Broomfield in the Colorado House of Representatives.

Comments

  • April 4, 2008

    1:04 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    p_myers661 writes:

    Now here's a medical research proposition no one can complain about. A wise use of public monies. And from a politician yet.