Recently I had the privilege of joining President Bush at the White House as he signed into law the Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act of 2005, legislation which I helped craft. In an effort to find cures or improved treatments for many diseases that strike our families and loved ones, the legislation creates a National Cord Blood Stem Cell Bank Network to collect and maintain cord blood units for the treatment of patients and research and continues the bone marrow registry program.

From Parkinson's and heart disease to leukemia, diabetes and spinal cord injuries, the number of afflicted patients who could potentially be saved by cord blood research is immense and we must encourage this effective research. Cord blood and bone marrow research holds enormous potential for advancements in science that can save and improve lives. We have a duty to those suffering from life-altering and life-threatening diseases to pursue this important line of medical research.

The Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act enhances the work of the National Marrow Donor Program and focuses on umbilical cord blood stem cells, which are routinely discarded. A goal of the bill is to establish an inventory of 150,000 high-quality cord blood units so patients seeking a transplant will have a better chance of finding a match.

In the past year, of the approximately 11,500 patients seeking blood or marrow stem cells from donors to whom they were not related, only about 2,500 successfully obtained a transplant. We can greatly improve on those numbers with this legislation.