Cord Blood Bank of Singapore
Children's Cancer Foundation partners Singapore Cord Blood Bank (SCBB) to start Singapore's only public cord blood bank.

CCF contributed 10% to the start-up cost of the Singapore Cord Blood Bank (SCBB) established by Singapore Health Services Pte Ltd, as we recognise the implications this project will have on childhood cancer survival rates.

Officially opened by Minister for Health, Mr. Khaw Boon Wan on 28 September 2005, SCBB is Singapore's only public cord blood bank. Operational since the end of December 2004, the Singapore Cord Blood Bank (SCBB) collects, processes and stores donated umbilical cord blood which will be made available to anyone who requires a suitable match for stem cell transplants. It will serve as a national repository of stem cell rich umbilical cord blood. This is different from existing private cord blood banks which store umbilical cord blood only for the family's use.

Why a public cord blood bank in Singapore?
The establishment of public cord blood banks worldwide has improved the likelihood of finding suitably matched stem cells for needy patients, leading to an upsurge in the number of cord blood transplants from unrelated donors. 6,000 of such transplants have been done worldwide, with 2,000 performed in the last year alone. In Singapore, more than 40 cord blood transplants have been done to date, mostly to treat children with blood cancers such as leukaemia. A vast majority of these were performed in public hospitals. Cord blood units for these transplants were obtained from public cord blood banks in countries such as Australia, Taiwan and the U.S.

The Singapore Cord Blood Bank's mission is to provide cord blood units of high safety and quality for transplants, a part of the medical treatment for some children with cancer, and this is achieved by practicing internationally accredited techniques in its collection, processing and banking of cord blood. Thus, CCF has pledged its support of $150,000 funding per year for two years from 2007 to 2008. In addition to building the inventory of cord blood, the funds will enable Singapore Cord Blood Bank to carry out training, development and education activities in support of their operations.

To date, SCBB has banked above 3000 cord blood units as at end Dec 2007. In order to increase this number, SCBB has expanded its collection base from births at KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH) National University Hospital (NUH), Singapore General Hospital (SGH), Mount Alvernia Hospital (MAH), Mount Elizabeth Hospital (MEH), Gleneagles Hospital (GEH), Raffles Hospital (RH), Thomson Medical Centre (TMC) and East Shore Hospital (ESH). As of end 2007, SCBB has released 11 cord blood units to facilitate 8 transplants in 2006 and 2007 alone. The transplants facilitated included 6 local transplants, 1 regional and 1 international. One of the recipients, SCBB's first patient, was a one-year-old toddler suffering from Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID). After failing to find a suitable match overseas, his parents finally found a match locally in SCBB. Since the successful transplant, the toddler has been recovering speedily and his parents have also urged for more people to donate their cord blood to SCBB.

Adhering strictly to the accreditation standards imposed by the US National Marrow Donor Programme (NMDP), SCBB was recognized as a member in April 2007. This international recognition of SCBB's commitment to stringent quality and safety standards will link the local public cord blood bank to the network of established and creditable public cord blood banks worldwide, allowing patients from other countries to search our registry for a suitable match. "...SCBB will give ethnic Asians in the West and other parts of the world hope. An ethnic match for cord blood will mean a higher chance of a cure," said Dr Jeff Chell, NMDP chief executive officer. (The Straits Times, 25 September 2007, Home, H6).

"SCBB is a national & international treasure due to our multi-ethnicity. We need to create this diversity of Asian cord blood units so that Singaporeans of Chinese, Malay & Indian origins, as well as Asians in the SEA region & internationally will have a better chance of finding a blood stem cell match," said Dr Tan Poh Lin, Consultant, Division of Haematology Oncology, NUH.

Cord blood cells are often considered as a substitute for bone marrow, and the requirements for matching a cord blood unit are less stringent than for bone marrow. Yet, many people in need of a blood stem cell transplant cannot find a suitably matched bone marrow or cord blood donor.

The situation in Singapore is similar. At present, the chances of a Singaporean finding a potentially life-saving stem cell match are slim. The reason for this is because there are many different immune genotypes that often cluster within ethnic groups, and the current bone marrow and cord blood registries around the world store a disproportionately large number of bone marrow and cord blood samples of Caucasian origin. In fact, because of their unique ethnic immune genotypes, 65%-80% of Asians worldwide currently are unable to find a match. As a result, many Singaporeans, and patients in Asia succumb to diseases that might otherwise be treated with a blood stem cell transplant.

In order to enhance the chances of finding matched stem cells Singapore needs a local public cord blood bank so that we are able to increase access to ethnically related cord blood units for those patients from ethnic groups represented in our community.

What are cord blood stem cells?
Cord blood is the blood that circulates through the umbilical cord from the foetus to the placenta. A short time after delivery, the umbilical cord is clamped and cut, and the remaining cord and its associated placenta are usually thrown away. The umbilical cord that remains attached to the placenta, has blood cells within it within which has been found to be rich in blood stem cells. These cord blood cells have the potential to save lives. Blood stem cells are the young or immature cells that can transform into other forms of essential blood cell types, such as red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets.

Diseases treatable with blood stem cells (Hematopoietic Cell Transplant):

Leukemias and lymphomas, including:

• Acute myelogenous leukemia
• Acute lymphoblastic leukemia
• Chronic myelogenous leukemia
• Chronic lymphocytic leukemia
• Juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia
• Hodgkin's lymphoma
• Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

About the Singapore Cord Blood Bank
The Singapore Cord Blood Bank (SCBB) is a non-profit public cord blood banking facility whose mission is to provide placental cord blood units of high safety and quality, through the practice of internationally accredited techniques of collection, processing, banking and disposition, in order to support cord blood transplantation and related research in Singapore and around the world.

The SCBB is a national resource that is supported by Singapore's largest healthcare provider – SingHealth, as well as two volunteer welfare organisations – Children's Cancer Foundation and Club Rainbow Singapore.

Participating Hospitals on SCBB's programme: KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Singapore General Hospital, National University Hospital, East Shore Hospital, Gleneagles Hospital, Mount Alvernia Hospital, Mount Elizabeth Hospital, Raffles Hospital and Thomson Medical Centre.

Parents who wish to find out more about donating their child's umbilical cord blood can visit the www.scbb.com.sg or contact the SCBB Donor Coordinators at 6394 5011 or info@scbb.com.sg.