WASHINGTON Congress has given final approval to legislation introduced by US Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) that will increase access to bone marrow and umbilical cord blood transplants and establishes a scientific research database.The Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act of 2005 is also sponsored by Senators John Ensign (R-NV), Christopher Dodd (D-CT), Orin Hatch (R-UT), and Richard Burr (R-NC), and expands donor recruitment, education, information and patient advocacy to cord blood donors and recipients. The bill establishes a registry of cord blood units available for transplantation and also reauthorizes the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP). Along with the registry of available cord blood units, the cord blood and bone marrow bill would establish a national inventory of 150,000 new high quality cord blood units suitable for transplantation into unrelated recipients. At that level, 95 percent of Americans with a condition that can be treated through a cord blood transplant could find a genetically suitable match. Currently, most cord blood is discarded as medical waste. This legislation authorizes $34 million in fiscal year (FY) 2006, with another $38 million in the following years through FY10. The funding will support the establishment of the national cord blood bank network as well as continue to fund work done by the NMDP.This bill builds upon the highly successful National Marrow Donor Program that has been a life line for thousands of transplant patients for almost 20 years, Reed stated. We are taking a critical step forward in expanding access to lifesaving therapies to millions of patients with conditions that can be treated and even cured with bone marrow or cord blood.Stem cells in the blood of umbilical cords, similar to those in bone marrow, can be transplanted into patients to replace diseased tissues with healthy ones. It is a proven, effective therapy for diseases such as leukemia, sickle cell, Fanconis anemia, Krabbes disease and severe combined immunodeficiency. The stem cells in cord blood are more versatile than bone marrow stem cells because they contain less genetic programming allowing them to treat a wider range of diseases and are compatible to more patients. A separate bill, the embryonic stem cell bill, also supported by Reed has passed the in House of Representatives and has been introduced in the Senate. It would lift current restrictions on federally-funded embryonic stem cell research to study potential treatment applications for embryonic stem cells, which are considered even more versatile than adult stem cells found in cord blood and may lead to effective treatment for conditions such as diabetes, Parkinsons disease and Alzheimers. Congress created the National Bone Marrow Donor Registry in 1986 because seventy percent of people needing bone marrow and blood cell transplants we unable to find donors in their families. The NMDP manages a registry of 5 million potential volunteer donors, which is the world's largest, most diverse registry.