House Unanimously Passes Cord Blood Stem Cell Reauthorization Bill

The U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed the Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Reauthorization Act of 2025 (H.R. 5160), which would authorize more than $280 million throughout the next five years for the C.W. Bill Young Cell Transplantation Program and the National Cord Blood Inventory.

Speaking on the House floor, Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., the bill's sponsor, emphasized that umbilical cord blood stem cells have proven effective in treating more than 75 diseases. He also recognized the impact of Joanne Kurtzberg, MD, of Duke University School of Medicine and chair of AABB’s Cord Blood Committee, who helped draft the original legislation, and highlighted her ongoing work, including research using cord blood to manufacture CAR T-cell therapies and other immune effector cell therapies.

The House and Senate must now reconcile differences between their versions of the bill before a final measure can clear Congress and be signed into law.