New Jersey plans to create a storage bank for umbilical cord blood to aid stem cell research, a program that state officials said will be the first of its kind in the nation.
Two nonprofit community blood banks will accept donations from healthy newborns made with parents' permission. Under the one-year pilot program, the blood will be used for treatment of illnesses, such as leukemia, or to conduct research.
An estimated $300,000 each will be given to the Elie Katz Umbilical Cord Blood Program at Community Blood Services in Paramus and the Coriell Institute for Medical Research in Camden, said Cynthia Kirchner, senior policy adviser to the state's public health commissioner.
Just a reminder that their is ethical stem cell research taking place that desperately needs funding.
