Obstetric Doctors and Nurses

Obstetrics Resources

The collaboration and unwavering support from our healthcare partners made it possible for SCBB to continue its mission of saving lives. SCBB is committed to working together with our partners to educate the public and patients on the benefits of cord blood banking: either as a precious gift of life to others through public donation or for family banking, with the option of potential donation in future.

Why Collect Cord Blood?

Umbilical cord blood can be used to treat a number of diseases, including blood cancers like leukaemia and lymphoma1. By collecting cord blood, obstetricians and other members of the delivery team play a critical role in helping patients receive the lifesaving transplants they need. Research also shows that OBGYNs play a significant role in educating and encouraging mothers about cord blood donation2.

Use of Cord Blood in Transplantation

Umbilical cord blood is increasingly used as a source of hematopoietic stem cells in allogeneic transplants.

Physicians may consider umbilical cord blood for patients who need an unrelated donor and have an uncommon HLA type (making it difficult to identify a full match), or are in urgent need of a transplant. Umbilical cord blood transplants are most often used for paediatric patients. Over the years, use of cord blood for transplant has increased in frequency for both adult and paediatric patient populations.

What is your role?

As the cord blood collector, your ability to collect an adequate volume of cord blood is pivotal to the potential use of the product in therapy3. The resources and tools provided in this section serve as a guide to help you collect sufficient cord blood for use in treatments in the future.

The safety of mother and baby are the top priorities and should never be compromised during cord blood collection. While we encourage you to obtain the maximum amount of cord blood from the umbilical cord and placenta as every drop counts, cord blood collection should be conducted only if it does not pose any risk to mother or child.

1 Cooper, Cathy A, and Mariesa R Severson. “Cord Blood and Tissue Banking: Supporting Expectant Parent’s Decision Making.” International Journal of Childbirth Education, vol. 28, no. 2, Apr. 2013, pp. 62, Accessed 18 Sept. 2017.

2 Peberdy, Lisa, et al. “Health care professionals’ knowledge, attitudes and practices relating to umbilical cord blood banking and donation: an integrative review.” BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, vol. 16, no. 81, 2016, pp. 1–19., Accessed 18 Sept. 2017.

3 Hend, Mohammed S, and Sayed A. EL Hend. “Knowledge and attitude of maternity nurses regarding cord blood collection and stem cells: An educational intervention.” Journal of Nursing Education and Practice, vol. 5, no. 4, 2015, pp. 58–69., Accessed 18 Sept. 2017.

Cord Blood Collection Best Practices

The method of cord blood collection strongly impacts whether the cord blood collected will qualify for banking in either the public inventory or family storage inventory. Your role as the cord blood collector is crucial for the collection of high quality cord blood units that are free of contamination and rich in total nucleated cell count. Learn more:

Quick Guide to Cord Blood Collection

This guide contains key elements necessary for high-quality cord blood unit collection.

How We Help

SCBB collaborates with all 10 participating maternity hospitals across Singapore to collect cord blood for public donation. The donated cord blood units are listed on international registries like BMDW (Bone Marrow Donor Worldwide) and NMDP (National Marrow Donor Programme).

For parents who wish to store for their family, family cord blood banking is offered at all public and private hospitals in Singapore.

We are committed to educate parents through clear, balanced and impartial information on cord blood banking. We will support medical professionals with education and training resources, and will also provide assistance to facilitate cord blood transplants.

Cord Blood Banking Options

Expectant parents have many cord blood banking options. These include donating to a public cord blood bank, storing cord blood for their own family or reserving cord blood for the baby’s sibling who has a pre-existing medical need.

Please refer to statements issued by various medical societies and agencies on cord blood banking options:

Resources for Expectant Parents

Please use the resources below to guide your discussion with your patients about cord blood banking:

For further questions or if you would like to arrange for an in-service talk for your staff, please contact

Hotline: 6394 5011 | Email: donate@scbb.com.sg