Umbilical Cord Blood Transplant
For adults suffering from blood cancers or disorders, and toddlers born with conditions, such as leukaemia, aplastic anaemia, or even some autoimmune diseases, an umbilical cord blood transplant from another individual can potentially offer a cure.
How our programme can help you
If you or your child are suffering from a blood cancer such as leukaemia, the body stops producing the right amount and type of blood cells. This can leave you or your child vulnerable to even simple infections such as the flu. To get rid of the cancer cells, the doctors will most likely recommend chemotherapy to kill the unwanted cells in the blood stream and bone marrow. After this, the empty bone marrow needs to receive a new and healthy set of stem cells to replace the cancerous ones and create a fully functioning immune system. This process is known as a bone marrow, or haematopoietic stem cell, transplant.
The team at the Singapore Cord Blood Bank will work with your transplant doctor to identify a suitable umbilical cord blood match in its registry. The Singapore Cord Blood Bank is the only public cord blood bank in Singapore and currently has more than 6,200 umbilical cord blood units in storage. The bank aims to store 10,000 ethnically diverse units, which will give Singaporeans an approximately 80% chance of finding a suitable match through the bank.
A bone marrow, or haematopoietic stem cell transplant may be an alternative for children or adults in need of an umbilical cord blood transplant. If you’re interested in more information on transplants using bone marrow, go to our page on
bone marrow transplants.
Achievements
The Singapore Cord Blood Bank was established in 2005. In its first year, the bank found a match for a local child who suffered from severe combined immunodeficiency. In four years, more than 50 life-saving transplants using donated umbilical cord blood have been made possible for patients in Singapore, Southeast Asia and around the world.
For more information on umbilical cord blood transplant
Contact
Ms Charlene Han
Singapore Cord Blood Bank
c/o KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital
100 Bukit Timah Road, Women’s Tower Basement 1
Unit OB60A
Singapore 229899