CS/HB 471

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to umbilical cord blood banking; creating
3s. 381.06016, F.S.; requiring the Department of Health to
4post on its website certain resources and a website link
5to specified materials regarding umbilical cord blood
6banking; requiring the department to encourage certain
7health care providers to make available to their pregnant
8patients information related to umbilical cord blood
9banking; providing that a health care provider or health
10care facility and its employees or agents are not liable
11for damages in a civil action, subject to prosecution in a
12criminal proceeding, or subject to disciplinary action by
13the appropriate regulatory board for acting in good faith
14to comply with the act; providing an effective date.
15
16Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
17
18     Section 1.  Section 381.06016, Florida Statutes, is created
19to read:
20     381.06016  Umbilical cord blood awareness.-
21     (1)  The Department of Health shall make publicly
22available, by posting on its Internet website, resources and an
23Internet website link to materials relating to umbilical cord
24blood which have been developed by the Parent's Guide to Cord
25Blood Foundation, Inc., including:
26     (a)  An explanation of the potential value and uses of
27umbilical cord blood, including cord blood cells and stem cells,
28for individuals who are, as well as individuals who are not,
29biologically related to a mother or her newborn child.
30     (b)  An explanation of the differences between using one's
31own cord blood cells and using biologically related or
32biologically unrelated cord blood stem cells in the treatment of
33disease.
34     (c)  An explanation of the differences between public and
35private umbilical cord blood banking.
36     (d)  The options available to a mother relating to stem
37cells that are contained in the umbilical cord blood after the
38delivery of her newborn child, including:
39     1.  Donating the stem cells to a public umbilical cord
40blood bank where such facilities are available;
41     2.  Storing the stem cells in a private family umbilical
42cord blood bank for use by immediate and extended family
43members;
44     3.  Storing the stem cells for use by family members
45through a family or sibling donor banking program that provides
46free collection, processing, and storage if there is an existing
47medical need; and
48     4.  Discarding the stem cells.
49     (e)  The medical processes involved in the collection of
50cord blood.
51     (f)  Criteria for medical or family history that may impact
52a family's consideration of umbilical cord blood banking,
53including the likelihood of using a baby's cord blood to serve
54as a match for a family member who has a medical condition.
55     (g)  Options for ownership and future use of donated
56umbilical cord blood.
57     (h)  The average cost of public and private umbilical cord
58blood banking.
59     (i)  The availability of public and private cord blood
60banks to residents of this state, including:
61     1.  A list of public cord blood banks and the hospitals
62served by those blood banks;
63     2.  A list of private cord blood banks that are available;
64and
65     3.  The availability of free family blood banking and
66sibling donor programs for family members with an existing
67medical need.
68     (j)  An explanation of which racial and ethnic groups are
69in particular need of publicly donated cord blood samples based
70upon medical data developed by the Health Resources and Services
71Administration of the United States Department of Health and
72Human Services.
73     (2)  The Department of Health shall encourage health care
74providers who provide health care services that are directly
75related to a woman's pregnancy to make available to a pregnant
76patient before her third trimester of pregnancy, or, if later,
77at the first visit of such patient to the provider, information
78listed under subsection (1) which relates to the patient's
79options regarding umbilical cord blood banking.
80     (3)  A health care provider or a health care facility, or
81any employee or agent thereof, is not liable for damages in a
82civil action, subject to prosecution in a criminal proceeding,
83or subject to disciplinary action by the appropriate regulatory
84board for acting in good faith to comply with the provisions of
85this section.
86     Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.


CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.