Cord Blood Donation

In Singapore, every year, about 40% - 60% of patients needing a haematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) to survive are unable to find a suitable stem cell match from bone marrow donors and other public cord blood banks. This is because only one in four patients can find a match amongst siblings and most of the bone marrow and cord blood registries around the world are not from Asian populations like ours. Patients are more likely to find a good stem cell match amongst donors from their own ethnic group.

 

Donation of cord blood to a centralised public cord blood bank such as the Singapore Cord Blood Bank (SCBB) increases the number of cord blood units available to all potential stem cell transplant patients. This increases the chances of finding a match for the patient, offering hope and a chance of a cure.

 

Donation is even more urgent when we know that ethnicity plays an important role in finding a stem cell match. Storing umbilical cord blood unit that matches the ethnicity of the population is critical in helping to save lives of needy patients.