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