Scott, Reed, Smith, and Lankford offer bill to reauthorize and strengthen the National Marrow Donor Program and the National Cord Blood Inventory.
Reauthorize and strengthen the National Marrow Donor Program and the National Cord Blood Inventory.
Occurrences
Scott, Reed, Smith, and Lankford offer bill to reauthorize and strengthen the National Marrow Donor Program and the National Cord Blood Inventory.
Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Tim Scott (R-SC), along with Senators Tina Smith (D-MN) and James Lankford (R-OK), introduced the Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Reauthorization Act of 2026. The bill seeks to reauthorize the National Marrow Donor Program and the National Cord Blood Inventory through 2031, with proposed funding of up to $280 million over five years to assist patients with diseases like leukemia and sickle cell anemia.
Senators Jack Reed (D-RI), Tim Scott (R-SC), Tina Smith (D-MN) and James Lankford (R-OK) for introducing S. 4109 , the Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Reauthorization Act of 2026, in the United States Senate. The bipartisan bill would reauthorize the C.W. Bill Young Cell Transplantation Program for another five years, preserving and strengthening the nation's federally-authorized registry and infrastructure that connects patients who are battling life-threatening blood cancers and diseases with life-saving volunteer unrelated donors.
Evidence
On April 1, 2026, Senators Tim Scott (R-SC) and Jack Reed (D-RI) introduced the Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Reauthorization Act of 2026. This bipartisan bill aims to reauthorize and strengthen the National Marrow Donor Program and the National Cord Blood Inventory through 2031, authorizing up to $280 million over five years to support individuals diagnosed with diseases such as leukemia, lymphomas, and sickle cell anemia.
On March 25, 2026, Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Tim Scott (R-SC), along with Senators Tina Smith (D-MN) and James Lankford (R-OK), introduced the Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Reauthorization Act of 2026. The bill seeks to reauthorize the National Marrow Donor Program and the National Cord Blood Inventory through 2031, with proposed funding of up to $280 million over five years to assist patients with diseases like leukemia and sickle cell anemia.
On March 19, 2026, the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) applauded the introduction of the Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Reauthorization Act of 2026 by Senators Reed, Scott, Smith, and Lankford. The bill aims to reauthorize the C.W. Bill Young Cell Transplantation Program for another five years, ensuring continued support for patients needing life-saving transplants.
On March 27, 2026, Senator Tim Scott led a bicameral letter urging the FDA to reconsider its decision denying a Pediatric Rare Disease Priority Review Voucher for a gene therapy treating sickle cell disease. The letter emphasized the importance of advancing curative treatments for the approximately 100,000 Americans affected by the disease.
On March 19, 2026, NMDP™, the nonprofit organization operating the national registry of unrelated blood stem cell donors and cord blood units, applauded Senators Jack Reed (D-RI), Tim Scott (R-SC), Tina Smith (D-MN), and James Lankford (R-OK) for introducing S. 4109, the Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Reauthorization Act of 2026, in the United States Senate. This bipartisan bill aims to reauthorize the C.W. Bill Young Cell Transplantation Program for another five years, preserving and strengthening the nation's federally authorized registry and infrastructure that connects patients battling life-threatening blood cancers and diseases with life-saving volunteer unrelated donors.
The C.W. Bill Young Cell Transplantation Program, established in 1987, has impacted nearly 150,000 lives. NMDP is actively working with partner organizations to ask Congress to immediately reauthorize the Program to ensure continued access to life-saving transplants for patients nationwide. Legislation to renew the program, The Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Reauthorization Act of 2025, was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by six bipartisan cosponsors in September 2025.
Action listed on GovInfo: Mr. Reed (for himself, Mr. Scott of South Carolina, Ms. Smith, and Mr. Lankford) introduced the bill; it was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. The bill title is the Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Reauthorization Act of 2026, to reauthorize the Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act of 2005.
NMDP says the current statutory authority for the C.W. Bill Young Cell Transplantation Program is set to expire at the end of September 2026 and that it is actively working with partner organizations to ask Congress to immediately reauthorize the program to ensure continued access to life-saving transplants. It also states that the nation’s blood and marrow stem cell donor registry still needs reauthorization and support for the National Cord Blood Inventory.
Assessments
Senator Scott co‑sponsored and helped introduce the Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Reauthorization Act of 2026 (S.4109) — a bipartisan bill that expressly seeks to reauthorize and strengthen the National Marrow Donor Program/C.W. Bill Young Cell Transplantation Program and the National Cord Blood Inventory and would authorize funding (reports cite up to $280M over five years). Those actions constitute a clear legislative attempt to fulfill the promise. However, as of the available evidence the bill was only introduced and referred to committee and no reauthorization has been enacted; NMDP materials indicate statutory authority still needs reauthorization. Because the candidate materially advanced legislation but the statutory reauthorization/strengthening has not yet been completed, the claim is partially fulfilled.
Senator Tim Scott made a clear legislative attempt by introducing and championing bipartisan legislation to reauthorize and strengthen the National Marrow Donor Program and National Cord Blood Inventory. However, the evidence only confirms bill introduction and advocacy efforts, not actual enactment or fulfillment of the reauthorization. The objective outlined in the promise was not fully delivered during the assessed term.