LITTLE ROCK — Two state legislators were applauded July 10 for their work on behalf of the Cord Blood Bank of Arkansas.
Sen. Johnny Key of Mountain Home and Rep.
Jon Woods of Springdale were honored for their work in sponsoring the Newborn Umbilical Cord Initiative Act of 2007. The law created a commission to oversee the state’s umbilical-cord blood bank at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock.
The bank allows parents to donate their newborn babies’ umbilical cord blood, rich in bloodforming stem cells which can be used to regenerate healthy blood cells and meet the needs of patients who need bone-marrow transplants. They can also store cord blood for personal use or donatecord blood for research.
“You can see the beauty of science,” Dr.
Peter Emanuel, executive director of the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, said at the luncheon at the Governor’s Mansion.
“We’re taking something that was previously thrown into the garbage and turning into a life-saving treatment.”
Guests at the luncheonincluded Hardin Bale, who had a cord-blood transplant as part of his fight against leukemia. He was joined at the luncheon by his wife, Kristy; brother Hunter;
sister-in-law Brooke; and parents Sharon and Johnny Bale.
Speakers included Dr.
Michele Fox, director of the cord bank; first lady Ginger Beebe, and Ian Goza, a 17-year-old cancer survivor who had a cordblood transplant.
High Profile, Pages 34 on 07/22/2012