SINGAPORE, 2 July 2004 - SingHealth welcomes the National Healthcare Group (NHG), Children's Cancer Foundation (CCF) and Club Rainbow (Singapore), who have joined it to establish the Singapore Cord Blood Bank (SCBB). This collaboration reinforces the role of the SCBB as a national resource. The four parties signed a member's agreement, earlier today, underlining their commitment to support the SCBB.
Commenting on the partnership, Professor Tan Ser Kiat, Chairman of the SCBB, said, "We are pleased to have the NHG, CCF and Club Rainbow (Singapore) as members of the SCBB." Adding on, Professor Tan, who is also the Group CEO of SingHealth, noted, "This partnership brings us a step closer to realizing the vision of establishing a shared national resource that is accessible to doctors who require stem cells for transplants and patients. More importantly, it demonstrates the hope that the public cord blood bank will bring to patients who need such treatment."
All four member-parties will be represented on the SCBB Board. Also appointed to the SCBB Board are Dr Kwa Soon Bee, Mrs Ruth Wong and Mr Mark Shaw who will serve as independent directors. Together, the SCBB board members will provide guidance to the management team of SCBB in realising its mission of making available safe, matched cord blood units of high quality to patients who need them.
An NHG spokesperson observed that currently, patients who do not have a matched donor from their families or the Bone Marrow Donor Programme rely on overseas cord blood banks. The spokesperson added that with the setting up of SCBB, a local bank that stores cord blood units from our own population, an Asian patient's chance of finding a suitable unrelated donor increases correspondingly, at a lower cost to the patient. NHG sees this as a valuable national resource for our patients and another important step towards providing them with the best possible care at a more affordable price.
"The Children's Cancer Foundation is pleased to participate in setting up the first public cord blood bank," said Dr. Tan Hiang Khoon, Chairman of the Children's Cancer Foundation. "Many Singaporeans will benefit from this initiative. Children who do not respond to chemotherapy now have a much higher chance of survival. This initiative complements our vision to increase the survival rate of children with cancer, and for childhood cancer not to be the top childhood mortality in Singapore."
Mr Gregory Vijayendran, President of Club Rainbow (Singapore) said, "Club Rainbow is privileged to be a partner in setting up and operating Singapore's first public cord blood bank. From our perspective, this strategic partnership will bring our present outreach to children suffering from life-threatening and chronic illnesses and their families to another level." Mr Vijayendran also said that Club Rainbow's involvement is strongly supported by their Advisory Board and is based on the benefit the bank will bring to the lives of children with various blood disorders cared for by the charity. "Paradoxically, the best news of all to us will be a Rainbow child suffering from a blood disorder cured through the efforts of the Singapore Cord Blood Bank," he added.
Since the intention to set up the SCBB was announced in January 2004, work on establishing the facility has been progressing well. A site for the bank has been chosen at KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH), which is appropriate as the hospital is Singapore's only dedicated obstetrics and paediatrics institution, registering an average of 15,000 births a year (40% of the annual national birth rate).
"We are looking forward to working with our partners on moving to the next phase of setting up the SCBB. Work is progressing well in constructing and outfitting the physical facility of the bank, and we are hopeful that the first cord blood unit will be banked by the end of this calendar year," said Dr Fidah Alsagoff, Executive Director of SCBB.
The SCBB aims to increase the number of treatment options available for patients in Singapore, at the same time increasing the access to life-saving cord blood units for Singaporeans who need it. It aims to help, in Singapore alone, up to 100 patients each year. The SCBB will initially start with 1,000 units, but it hopes to increase the number of cord blood units, as the science progresses, and as funds are raised from generous supporters.
About SingHealth
SingHealth is the largest provider of acute healthcare in Singapore, made up of 3 Hospitals, 5 National Specialist Centres and a network of 8 polyclinics. We are dedicated to providing quality healthcare that is affordable and accessible to our patients.
At SingHealth, we are inspired by our shared values of Clinical Excellence, Commitment and Collaboration to provide Genuine Care to all our patients.
Members of the SingHealth group:
Hospitals
Changi General Hospital, KK Women's and Children's Hospital and Singapore General Hospital
National Specialist Centres
National Cancer Centre, National Dental Centre, National Heart Centre, Singapore National Eye Centre and National Neuroscience Institute
SingHealth Polyclinics
Bedok, Bukit Merah, Geylang, Marine Parade, Outram, Pasir Ris, Queenstown and Tampines
For further information, please visit us at www.singhealth.com.sg
About National Healthcare Group
"The National Healthcare Group (NHG) manages:
Four hospitals - Alexandra Hospital, National University Hospital, Tan Tock Seng Hospital and the Institute of Mental Health/Woodbridge Hospital; The Johns Hopkins-NUH International Medical Centre;
One National Centre - National Skin Centre;
The NHGP chain of nine polyclinics - Ang Mo Kio, Bukit Batok, Choa Chu Kang, Clementi, Hougang, Jurong, Toa Payoh, Woodlands, Yishun;
Three speciality institutes - The Cancer Institute, The Eye Institute and The Heart Institute; and Five Business Divisions - NHG College, NHG Diagnostics, NHG Gulf, NHG Pharmacy and NetCare Internet Services.
Our vision is "Adding years of healthy life to the people of Singapore".
For more information, please visit our website at www.nhg.com.sg
About Children's Cancer Foundation
Children's Cancer Foundation (CCF) has helped more than 950 children and their families since its inception in 1992. CCF is an independent voluntary welfare organisation (VWO) that helps cancer-stricken children below 17 years old.
While doctors and nurses take care of the medical needs of our children, CCF works towards improving the quality of life of cancer-stricken children through the enhancement of their emotional and psychosocial well-being.
Among the free services CCF provides are Counselling and Casework, Therapeutic Play, Parents Support Groups, Financial Assistance, Back-to-School Programme, Childhood Cancer Marrow Transplant Programme and Bereavement Programme. CCF has two Family Support Centres (FSCs) where counselling and other related activities take place. The FSCs are located just outside the childhood cancer ward of both the KK Women's & Children's Hospital (KKH) and the National University Hospital (NUH) for easy accessibility by children and their families. For further information, please contact us at 6835 6465, visit www.ccf.org.sg or email admin@ccf.org.sg
About Club Rainbow (Singapore)
The mission of Club Rainbow (Singapore) is to provide comprehensive support services to families of children suffering from major chronic and life-threatening illnesses. Such support services include psychosocial, educational, informational and financial assistance to help alleviate the effects of the illnesses on the lives of the Rainbow families. The charity, registered in 1992, is presently providing outreach to close to 400 families.
Among the services provided by Club Rainbow (Singapore) are Counselling, Casework and Group Work Therapy, Parent Support Groups, Play Therapy, Seminars and Workshops, Specific lllness Group Programmes, Youth Outreach, Tuition Services, an Emotional Support Network and Financial Assistance. Club Rainbow has a Rainbow Care and Resource Centre in the National University Hospital that operates as a one-stop centre for counselling and informational resources for Rainbow families.
For further information, please contact us at 63771789 (O), e-mail us at club_rainbow@pacific.net.sg or visit our website at www.clubrainbow.org.
For media enquiries and more information, please contact:
Ms Herniwaty Husni
Snr Executive, Corporate Communications
SingHealth
DID: 6557 4950
Email: herniwaty.husni@singhealth.com.sg