Promote stem cell research ... donate your baby's umbilical cord

For those who object to the use of leftover IVF embryos and therapeutic cloning for embryonic stem cell research, there is another alternative: Donate your soon-to-be born baby's umbilical cord for public storage so that it can be used for research or to treat or save the life of an unrelated person.

The Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences issued a report last year calling for the establishment of a National Cord Blood Stem Cell Bank Program; what the National Marrow Donor Program is doing is the first step.

[thanks, Karama Neal!]