(KMOV) - The Catholic Church continues to be at the center of the stem cell debate.
But what many people don't realize is that the church promotes certain types of stem cell donations.
Now, Amelia is a happy little four-year-old girl but when she was just 14 months old Amelia was diagnosed with leukemia.
After months of unsuccessful chemotherapy, doctors at Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital decided to try a stem cell transplant using cells that originated from donated umbilical cord blood.
Doctors use this blood because of its purity and richness in stem cells.
News 4 health team Chief Medical Consultant Ira Kodner explains, there is no controversy.
"Cord blood is adult blood it has no potential to go on to become human life," said Kodner.
"There is no ethical religious restriction on the use of cord blood," he added.
When a child is born the mother has the option of donating the child's umbilical cord blood for public use at no cost, banking it for a fee just in case the family needs it, or having the hospital throw it out.
Cardinal Glennon Hospital is home to the only public cord bank in the St. Louis area.
There are also several private banks across the nation. Some families choose to pay for storage when there's a family history of blood disorders.
For decades both hospitals and mothers saw umbilical cord blood as medical waste but to Amelia's mother, it's a donation that saved her daughter's life.
A bone marrow transplant can only happen when six out of six chromosomes match between the donor and recipient.
A cord blood transplant can take place with fewer.
Both are listed in a national registry.
Since Cardinal Glennon is a public blood bank, they ship theirs all around the world.
