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Singapore Cord Blood Bank Community Banking Public Donation

Public Cord Blood Donation

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About

newborn

Your little one can be a lifesaver.

When cord blood stem cells are transplanted into a patient, the stem cells can repopulate the patient's bone marrow with functional and healthy blood cells. Globally, they are used in treatments of patients suffering from over 80 conditions including blood cancers and disorders, immune deficiencies and genetic disorders.

Your baby will not need his umbilical cord after birth, but someone else could really use it. With over 70% of patients relying on unrelated patients for a matching stem cell unit, a cord blood transplant is more often than not, their last chance of survival.

Together, we can create a future where every patient who needs a stem cell transplant can live on.

Public cord blood banks like SCBB collect, process and store donated cord blood units (CBUs) for unrelated (allogenic) haematopoietic stem cell transplants. This is the standard treatment for haematological malignancies (e.g. Leukaemia) and non-malignant disorders (i.e. immune deficiencies, haemoglobinopathies and metabolic disorders).

All of the units donated and stored at SCBB are listed on international donor databases such as the Bone Marrow Donor Worldwide, accessible by Transplant Centres all around the world.

There is no charge to donors for the collection and banking of cord blood in SCBB. SCBB raises the funds required for the processing and cryopreservation of these donated CBUs. These units will be publicly available and no longer the property of the parents or the child.
bag of cord blood

Donor Eligibility

  • Mothers must be 21 years old at the point of giving birth.
  • Donors should be fit to donate blood by international criteria of blood banks.
  • Donors should not have any infectious diseases which could be transmitted, or are at risk of transmitting any form of infectious diseases by donation.
  • Donors should not have any genetic disorders within the immediate family, which could be transmitted.
  • Mothers having more than 1 baby (i.e. twins, triplets) in the pregnancy will be excluded.
  • Mothers experiencing a high-risk pregnancy will be excluded so that the delivering doctor can focus on the pregnancy at hand.

 

 

Options

All CBUs collected will undergo further testing. Only those of high cell quantity and quality will be processed and stored for future transplants. This ensures that publicly available CBUs are suitable for both adult and paediatric patients.

During the consent process, parents will choose their next option should the donated unit not meet donation criteria:

  1. Donate to research: This allows researchers to discover new treatments using cord blood. No costs will be incurred.
  2. Convert to Family Banking (P2F): Cord blood will be stored with SCBB for the family's exclusive use. Service fees apply.
  3. Discard as medical waste: No costs will be incurred.

Registration

Step 1
Let your Ob/Gyn know about your intention to donate cord blood.

Step 2
Complete and submit the form via the link below from your 2nd trimester onwards.

Step 3
Our donor coordinators will reach out to you for the consent process. Compulsory forms include the Consent Form and Maternal Health Questionnaire.

If you need more time for consideration, please be informed that this step should be completed at the latest, 2 weeks before your EDD.

Step 4
On the day of delivery, have a hard copy or screenshot of the endorsed Consent Form with you. Without it, you will not be able to proceed with cord blood collection.

 
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Participating Hospitals

kkh
nuh
sgh
gleneagles
mt alvernia
mt e novena
mt e orchard
parkway east
raffles
thomson medical

Essential Information

  • Not all donated units can be stored in SCBB's public inventory. For units that do not meet donation criteria, they can be donated to research, stored for family or discarded.
  • About 30ml of blood will be collected from the mother when she is in the labour ward or delivery suite. The blood collected will be evaluated for infectious diseases to ensure that the CBU is safe for patients.
  • Any identifying information is never exchanged between a cord blood donor and cord blood recipient. The identity of cord blood donor is kept confidential at SCBB.
  • If the donor needs cord blood for medical treatment and the donated CBU is unavailable or unsuitable, SCBB will source a suitable unit from our public inventory, subject to the treating physician's assessment and approval. T&Cs apply.
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