3 October 2007
West Australians are set to benefit from the establishment
of Western Australia’s first public cord blood bank.
The Premier, Hon Alan Carpenter MLA was today at the Australian Red Cross
Blood Service to present a Lotterywest cheque for $2,278,385 towards the
establishment of the Rotary WA Cord Blood Bank.
The Lotterywest grant means that the construction phase of this facility,
which will potentially offer life saving treatment to critically ill patients
can soon commence.
Rotary International selected the cord blood facility in WA as its gift
to all West Australians to celebrate its 100 years of international service
in 2005.
Requiring $6 million to make the project a reality, Rotary has undertaken
a vigorous fundraising campaign with significant donations coming from
individuals and corporate organisations.
Lotterywest has contributed over $2.27 million towards the project, of
which $2 million will enable building renovations and extensions to the
current Red Cross premises in Wellington Street, Perth to house the Rotary
WA Cord Blood Bank. The remaining Lotterywest grant has been spent on
a comprehensive community education and awareness campaign.
Mr Carpenter said that the support of Lotterywest would enable the construction
phase to commence in the near future and will provide WA with a world
class facility.
“Rotary WA and Red Cross should be congratulated on taking the initiative
to establish a public cord blood bank in WA” he said.
“All West Australian’s are set to benefit from the establishment
of this facility in Perth.”
Cord blood will be collected from the placenta and umbilical cord of mothers
who have given their consent and will be available free of charge to patients
needing cord blood transplants. Cord Blood is a very rich source of stem
cells and a transplant can mean the difference between life and death.
It is expected that the Rotary WA Cord Blood Bank will be part of AusCord,
the national cord blood registry and will be managed from the Australia
Red Cross Blood Service in accordance with stringent standards and regulatory
controls.
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