Florida Senate - 2011 SB 702 By Senator Flores 38-00430A-11 2011702__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to umbilical cord blood banking; 3 requiring the Department of Health to post on its 4 website certain resources and a website link to 5 specified materials regarding umbilical cord blood 6 banking; requiring the department to encourage certain 7 health care providers to make available to their 8 pregnant patients information related to umbilical 9 cord blood banking; providing that a health care 10 provider or health care facility and its employees or 11 agents are not liable for damages in a civil action, 12 subject to prosecution in a criminal proceeding, or 13 subject to disciplinary action by the appropriate 14 regulatory board for acting in good faith to comply 15 with the act; providing an effective date. 16 17 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 18 19 Section 1. (1) The Department of Health shall make publicly 20 available, by posting on its Internet website, resources and an 21 Internet website link to materials relating to umbilical cord 22 blood which have been developed by the Parent’s Guide to Cord 23 Blood Foundation, Inc., including: 24 (a) An explanation of the potential value and uses of 25 umbilical cord blood, including cord blood cells and stem cells, 26 for individuals who are, as well as individuals who are not, 27 biologically related to a mother or her newborn child. 28 (b) An explanation of the differences between using one’s 29 own cord blood cells and using biologically related or 30 biologically unrelated cord blood stem cells in the treatment of 31 disease. 32 (c) An explanation of the differences between public and 33 private umbilical cord blood banking. 34 (d) The options available to a mother relating to stem 35 cells that are contained in the umbilical cord blood after the 36 delivery of her newborn, including: 37 1. Donating the stem cells to a public umbilical cord blood 38 bank where facilities are available; 39 2. Storing the stem cells in a private family umbilical 40 cord blood bank for use by immediate and extended family 41 members; 42 3. Storing the stem cells for use by family members through 43 a family or sibling donor banking program that provides free 44 collection, processing, and storage if there is an existing 45 medical need; and 46 4. Discarding the stem cells. 47 (e) The medical processes involved in the collection of 48 cord blood. 49 (f) Criteria for medical or family history that can impact 50 a family’s consideration of umbilical cord blood banking, 51 including the likelihood of using a baby’s cord blood to serve 52 as a match for a family member who has a medical condition. 53 (g) Options for ownership and future use of donated 54 umbilical cord blood. 55 (h) The average cost of public and private umbilical cord 56 blood banking. 57 (i) The availability of public and private cord blood banks 58 to residents of this state, including: 59 1. A list of public cord blood banks and the hospitals 60 served by such blood banks; 61 2. A list of private cord blood banks that are available; 62 and 63 3. The availability of free family banking and sibling 64 donor programs if there is an existing medical need by a family 65 member. 66 (j) An explanation of which racial and ethnic groups are in 67 particular need of publicly donated cord blood samples based 68 upon medical data developed by the Health Resources and Services 69 Administration of the United States Department of Health and 70 Human Services. 71 (2) The Department of Health shall encourage health care 72 providers who provide health care services that are directly 73 related to a woman’s pregnancy to make available to a pregnant 74 patient before her third trimester of pregnancy, or, if later, 75 at the first visit of such patient to the provider, information 76 listed under subsection (1) which relates to the patient’s 77 options regarding umbilical cord blood banking. 78 (3) A health care provider or a health care facility, or 79 any employee or agent thereof, is not liable for damages in a 80 civil action, subject to prosecution in a criminal proceeding, 81 or subject to disciplinary action by the appropriate regulatory 82 board for acting in good faith to comply with the provisions of 83 this section. 84 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.