David Burrowes MP will be presenting a Bill to Parliament next Tuesday encouraging the donation of umbilical cord blood and for it to be stored for public use.
The purpose of the Bill is to increase the awareness of the value of umbilical cord blood for the treatment of diseases and for further research of new treatment methods using cord blood stem cells.
If the Bill is passed, doctors will be required to inform all parents of the benefits of collection and storage of cord blood and to presume consent for collection from families with a history of cord blood treatable diseases.
The Bill has attracted cross party support together with the Anthony Nolan Trust, and the UK Leukaemia Society. The UK Thalassaemia Society, which is based in David Burrowes' constituency in Southgate, is also supporting the aims of the Bill.
David Burrowes said "I have only become aware of the value of umbilical cord blood during the debate over stem cell therapy. Despite having had six children, and living adjacent one of only 3 NHS hospitals which collect cord blood, my wife and I have never been informed of the benefits of donating the umbilical cord blood.
"Through my Bill I want to stop the waste of life saving cord blood and open up the opportunities for treatment of diseases and ethical stem cell research."
Examples of families who have been unable to obtain a bone marrow match for their children suffering from leukaemia and have wanted cord blood, has prompted the need for action.
Becki Josiah is the mother of one such family from Walthamstow, East London. Her daughter had acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and died in April 2006 without an available bone marrow match. The particular difficulty was that her daughter was of mixed race background.
