Cord blood banking topic of CT forum

Hartford (AP) - A bipartisan coalition of Connecticut lawmakers is hosting a forum this week in Hartford on the importance of cord blood education and banking. The panel, scheduled for Monday at the Legislative Office Building, will be led by Dr. Charles Lockwood, an expert in maternal-fetal medicine and chair of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive services at Yale University School of Medicine.

Last year, lawmakers required health care providers to inform expectant mothers about the option to bank or donate their newborn baby's umbilical cord blood, which is rich in stem cells that can be frozen and used to treat various diseases and conditions.

Connecticut parents can pay private banks to store the blood. There's now a push to create a public cord blood bank in the state.