[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 28 (Tuesday, March 7, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E288]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  TRIBUTE TO THE BRADY KOHN FOUNDATION

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MICHAEL N. CASTLE

                              of delaware

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, March 7, 2006

  Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise today 
to pay tribute to the Brady Kohn Foundation and its founders, Carolyn 
and Andy Kohn. The Kohns began their foundation to honor a wonderful 
little boy, their son Brady, whose life on this earth was all too 
short. The work of this Foundation centers around the use of umbilical 
cord blood, a safe and painless way to retrieve valuable stem cells, 
which can be used to save the lives of many Americans. I welcome the 
initiative taken by the partnership of Christiana Care Hospital, the 
The Elie Katz Umbilical Cord Blood Program at Community Blood Services, 
and the Brady Kohn Foundation to publicly bank cord blood. This is the 
first step into truly cutting edge medical research.
  I am very familiar with the dedication of The Brady Kohn Foundation's 
founding members. Carolyn and Andy have worked tirelessly to achieve a 
partnership that would enable expectant mothers to have their umbilical 
cord blood publicly banked at no cost. The Brady Kohn Foundation will 
be the leader in education, awareness, and promotion of this project, 
inspiring expectant mothers to bank their cord blood in hopes of saving 
the lives of others. Christiana Care is an excellent choice for this 
project as they are home to approximately 7,000 deliveries per year. Of 
the cord blood collected, roughly 60 percent will be banked and used 
for medical procedures such as bone marrow transplants, while the other 
40 percent will be used for research that has the potential to heal 
countless diseases in the future.
  I recognize the struggle that the Kohns have gone through to reach 
their goal of providing a public umbilical cord banking system. I would 
like to thank Carolyn, Andy, and all those involved with this valuable 
project. I am certain the new public cord blood banking system will 
have a tremendous impact on many lives in my home state of Delaware and 
around the United States.

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