Federal cord blood banking program renewed with expanded inventory control
S. 4109 — Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Reauthorization Act of 2026 · Filed by Jack Reed (D-RI) · 3 cosponsors · Introduced Mar 17, 2026 · Reported out
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What it does
This bill reauthorizes federal funding for stem cell research and cord blood banking programs under the C.W. Bill Young Cell Transplantation Program, increasing appropriations to $33 million annually through 2031. It updates the National Cord Blood Inventory management framework, allowing the Secretary of Health and Human Services to transfer units between banks, retire low-quality units, and manage inventory based on scientific evidence and clinical utility.
Why we flagged it
The bill extends federal funding and updates operational standards for a public cord blood banking program serving transplant patients. It is a routine reauthorization with modernized inventory management provisions.
What the text implies
- The Secretary gains broad discretion to retire or transfer cord blood units based on 'scientific and clinical evidence' without explicit statutory criteria, potentially reducing inventory availability if interpreted narrowly.
- The bill does not specify what happens to transferred units or establish appeal rights for cord blood banks whose units are deemed non-compliant, creating potential for operational disruption.
- Periodic review language (Section 4) requires assessment of 'emergent technologies' but does not mandate funding or prioritization of newer stem cell approaches, potentially locking resources into cord blood banking.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill funds a public health program that maintains a national cord blood inventory for transplant patients, particularly those with blood disorders and cancers. Citizens gain access to potentially life-saving cell therapies, and the updated management provisions ensure inventory quality and efficient use of federal resources.
Who stands to gain
- cord blood banks (public and nonprofit entities receiving federal contracts)
- transplant centers and hospitals (indirect beneficiaries through inventory access)
Named in the bill
C.W. Bill Young Cell Transplantation Program, National Cord Blood Inventory, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration, Advisory Council on Blood Stem Cell Transplantation, Public Health Service Act
Where it stands
3 cosponsors: 2 Republicans, 1 Democrats.
- Mar 17, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Mar 17, 2026 — Referred to Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.”
- Jun 17, 2026 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature…”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
7 lobbying clients named this bill on 8 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Mar 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $1,526,008 in lobbying spend. A filing names 6 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 86% of bills with at least one filing.
Jack Reed, the sponsor, reported $1,152,500 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- College of American Pathologists — $486,008 on 2 filings
- Susan B Anthony List — $420,000 on 1 filing
- National Marrow Donor Program — $300,000 on 1 filing
- Nmdp — $110,000 on 1 filing
- New York Blood Center Enterprises — $90,000 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (3,539 characters) on Jul 9, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Mar 2026 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
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