The Family Cord Blood Banking Act (HR 1614)
- The “Family Cord Blood Banking Act” (H.R. 1614) amends Section 213(d) of the IRS Code to add cord blood banking services as a qualified medical expense. This change will allow individuals and couples to use tax advantaged dollars to pay for umbilical cord blood banking services through flexible spending accounts (FSAs), health savings accounts (HSAs) health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) or the medical expenses tax deduction.
- Cord Blood is a rich and non-controversial source of stem cells for current and emerging therapies. Stem cells from umbilical cord blood have been used in more than 25,000 transplants worldwide during the last 20 years to treat a wide range of diseases in both adults and children. Because they have shown distinct benefits over other sources of adult stem cells (like bone marrow and peripheral blood), they are routinely chosen preferred by transplant physicians for treating many forms of cancer, blood disorders and immune diseases.
- Cord blood stem cells are also showing promising results in research for regenerative medicine. Because stem cells found in cord blood have the ability to differentiate into many cell types in the human body, they are demonstrating considerable potential for therapeutic use. Researchers have found that in addition to blood cell precursors, cord blood and cord tissue itself contain many different types of stem cells -- the building blocks of bones, the heart, liver, and nervous system. Clinical trials are currently underway to study use of a child’s own cord blood stem cells to treat type 1 diabetes, traumatic brain injury, cerebral palsy and hearing loss.
- A child’s cord blood stem cells can be stored for family or personal use in a private family bank. The average cost of cord blood banking can be as much as $2,000 for collection and processing and up to $150 a year for storage. Passage of the “Family Cord Blood Banking Act” could reduce these costs considerably for American families, depending on their tax bracket.
- Unlike other medical therapies that can be acquired at any time, the very nature of cord blood requires that it be processed and stored before medical use. Thus, cord blood banking should be considered as a medical expense even though the use of these cells may not occur until the future.
- The “Family Cord Blood Banking Act” will make cord blood banking more affordable for American families and provide incentives to ensure that this valuable health resource is never thrown away.
- The Coalition for Regenerative Stem Cell Medicine (CRSCM – www.crscm.org) has endorsed the “Family Cord Blood Banking Act.” CRSCM is a national coalition of consumer healthcare organizations, researchers, professional associations and nonprofit patient advocacy groups dedicated to raising awareness and lowering financial barriers of cord blood stem cells. CRSCM members include the Brain Injury Association of America, the Spinal Cord Injury Association, the Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health, the Childhood Leukemia Foundation, the Parents Guide to Cord Blood, several notable stem cells researchers throughout the world and a growing number of other individuals and organizations dedicated to ensuring that these valuable stem cells are never thrown away.
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