Burrowes' cord blood debate received positive response from Government
11th January 2010
On Thursday 7th January, David Burrowes MP again raised the issue of umbilical cord blood in Parliament. The debate followed David Burrowes’ championing of cord blood since introducing his Private Members Bill on the subject in 2008. Following the establishment of an All Party Parliamentary Group on Umbilical Cord Blood and the Government’s national review, the debate provided a timely opportunity to press the Government to support an increase in the collection and use of cord blood as well as access to information for parents.
The Government Minister responded to the debate secured by David Burrowes by confirming that £10 million had been set aside to increase the number of cords collected to 20,000, promising to provide regular information about the numbers of cords collected, stored and used for transplantation and research. She also announced the establishment of an expert strategic forum that will operate as a high-level taskforce to advise Ministers on the best options going forward and to pave the way for a comprehensive national strategy.
David Burrowes MP, Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Umbilical Cord Blood and Adult Stem Cells commented after the debate:
“I was delighted that the Government Minister Gillian Merron MP responded to my debate in such a positive and constructive way. At last there seems to be real progress being made to make more use of the life saving resource of umbilical cord blood. Cord blood is a natural, safe, ethical and sustainable resource. It offers many advantages over using traditional bone marrow transplants from adult donors and would offer researchers an alternative to using embryonic stem cells. I look forward to further discussions with the Minister when she meets the All Party Group soon and as we develop the national strategy.”
