Western Australia doesn’t yet have a public (free) Cord Blood Bank. That means that cord blood has to come from cord blood banks in the eastern states or overseas. Rotary WA’s vision can change that!!

In 2005, in celebration of Rotary International’s 100th birthday, Rotary WA committed to fundraising $6 million to establish the Rotary WA Cord Blood Bank as a special gift to the
people of Western Australia.

You may be aware that fundraising for the UWA Medical School was the ‘gift’ to Western Australia on the occasion of Rotary International’s 50th Anniversary.

Cord blood is a proven treatment alternative for a number of life threatening illnesses. Recent clinical and scientific advances have facilitated the expansion of the use of cord blood for adults as well as children in more than 7,000 transplants worldwide. New cell therapies to treat complications of transplantation, severe heart disease and joint degeneration are currently being developed.

The fundraising campaign is already well under way. There has been tremendous support from:
• Lotterywest who has contributed $2 million to the campaign.
• Western Australian Rotary Clubs who have directly contributed over $1 million.
• Dr Haruhisa Handa who has pledged $0.5 million to the campaign.
• Corporate organisations who (in total) have pledged another $0.75 million.
• There are two fantastic Charity Homes being built – one at MeVé at Beelier, the other at South Bunbury. Both are expected to be auctioned in 2008 with net proceeds going to the Rotary WA Cord Blood Bank campaign.

We currently have cash and pledges totalling $4.4 million, which is enough to start the building phase of the Rotary WA Cord Blood Bank facility, but not enough to finish it.

We need to raise a further $1.6 million. This is your chance to leave your mark for posterity.