Latest news with #cordblood
CNA
11-07-2025
- Health
- CNA
Singapore's public cord blood bank faces donor shortage despite rise in awareness
SINGAPORE: When Esmond Cheng was just three months old, he was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder that severely compromised his immune system and left him highly susceptible to infections. While his only chance of survival was a stem cell transplant, no one in his family was a match. A donor in Hong Kong was willing to donate, but it fell through after the infant developed recurrent fevers and infections lasting more than a year. His parents then turned to Singapore's sole public cord blood bank for help on their doctor's advice. Within a month, the boy found a matching unit – thanks to a donor. Today, the 12-year-old is doing well, his father Edmund Cheng told CNA. 'At times, it was very, very sad for us but luckily, he had the persistence to push on which all the other doctors were so amazed (by),' the older man said. 'He's a very strong boy and we're also very glad that cord blood really saved his life.' Since the Singapore Cord Blood Bank (SCBB) – located within the KK Women's and Children's Hospital – was set up two decades ago, it has collected about 75,000 units from donors. But the bank is grappling with a shortage of donors to build a diversified inventory, despite increasing awareness in recent years of the benefits of cord blood. It also comes as the use of cord blood has grown not just in clinical treatments, but also in advanced medical research. Cord blood contains a rich source of blood stem cells that have strong regenerative properties. These stem cells have been proven to be useful in the treatment of many blood disorders and cancers, including severe combined immunodeficiency – the disease that Esmond suffers from. PARENTS MORE ENGAGED SCBB's medical director Aloysius Ho told CNA that parents are now more informed and ask more detailed questions on the conditions of cord blood storage, quality control and contingency measures. The Baby Bonus scheme has made family banking more accessible, providing Singaporean parents with a practical financing option, said Associate Professor Ho. He added that private storage levels with the bank rose by nearly 50 per cent after an incident in 2023 with private player Cordlife, which was found to have mishandled cord blood units. More than 2,000 clients were affected. Donation levels also increased by 14 per cent following the incident, but that has not been enough, noted Assoc Prof Ho. "We, despite having 15,000 units in our inventory, often find ourselves having to actually import cord blood from other global cord blood banks, because we're not able to find a suitable match within SCBB. So, we do need to increase the pool of donors,' he said. 'We know that we have a fairly unique population mix in Singapore, and we would like to try and encourage potential parents, especially from the ethnic minorities, to sign up as public donors because of the unique gene pool in that population.' He explained that people are more likely to find a suitable match within their own ethnic group due to genetic similarities, so a wider donor pool ensures better chances of finding a match for patients of all backgrounds. Assoc Prof Ho pointed out that misconceptions remain about public cord blood banking, such as that it is not always successful. Nevertheless, he acknowledged this is 'probably partially true' as only about 20 to 25 per cent of donated units end up being banked for use for transplants. The remaining units do not meet the standard of quality. But with the donors' consent, they can be used for other purposes like research studies, added Assoc Prof Ho, who is also a senior consultant at the SingHealth Duke-NUS Transplant Centre. NEED GROWING MORE URGENT According to doctors, the need for cord blood is now more urgent than ever. With smaller family sizes and more people starting families later in life, fewer patients can rely on relatives for a close genetic match. Cord blood is also increasingly used in medical research to regenerate cells and even slow down ageing. Cord blood is especially attractive as they mutate less compared to adult blood stem cells, and can help fight leukaemia cells 'quite well' due to their adaptability, said Professor William Hwang, chief executive of the National Cancer Centre Singapore and a senior consultant at Singapore General Hospital's haematology department. 'In the past, we needed to have a fully matched brother or sister or an unrelated donor who is fully matched with the patient in order to do the (cord blood) transplant,' he noted. 'But now, we can do the transplant even though there is only half match with the patient … because technology has developed such that we can do two forms of manipulation of the cells." To encourage more families to donate, SCBB said it is working to raise awareness through outreach and education initiatives. These include engaging mothers in public hospitals, active social media outreach and community events. Esmond's family is also encouraging others to donate cord blood to save lives like his. 'For those newly married or just had a kid, it's good to keep their cord blood. You won't know if you will be needing it or if other people need it. It's good to have that so that it can help other people in another way,' added Mr Cheng.
CNA
29-06-2025
- Health
- CNA
Public cord blood bank short of donors despite rising awareness
Singapore's public cord blood bank is grappling with a shortage of donors despite awareness levels growing in recent years. It's a problem that's become even more pressing as the use of cord blood has risen not just in hospitals, but also in cutting-edge medical research.
CNA
06-06-2025
- Business
- CNA
About 56% of affected Cordlife customers accept refund offer over mishandling of cord blood units
SINGAPORE: About 56 per cent of affected Cordlife customers have accepted the refund offers made by the company after its mishandling of cord blood units. In a regulatory update on Friday (Jun 6), the private cord blood bank gave an update on the number of clients who have accepted its offers that were made in February and April 2024. The offers comprised a refund of the annual fees paid by affected clients from the onset of the "temperature excursion". For those affected, Cordlife had also offered to continue storing the cord blood units until their child reaches the age of 21 and to waive all future fees. When previously contacted by CNA in May last year, Cordlife declined to give the exact figure for the number of clients who had accepted the refunds. Its mishandling of cord blood units was first made public on Nov 30, 2023, when the Ministry of Health (MOH) revealed that investigations were ongoing. Seven tanks storing cord blood units were exposed to temperatures above acceptable limits. About 2,200 cord blood units were found damaged in one of the tanks, affecting at least 2,150 clients. In April last year, it was announced that another 5,300 cord blood units in a second tank and dry shipper were deemed "non-viable". Some customers are, however, continuing their legal action against the company. In a bourse update on the matter on Apr 1, the company said it had received on Mar 28 two letters of demand from lawyers acting for two groups of affected clients. One group is claiming for damages for breach of contract and negligence, while the other group is requesting for compensation for costs, among other warranties and undertakings from Cordlife. The company received its first letter of demand in May last year, while two other announcements were made in Aug 15, 2024 and Mar 1 on the same matter. In January, MOH renewed Cordlife's cord blood and human tissue banking service licences for a year, more than four months after it was allowed to resume its cord blood banking services in a limited manner. The company said on Friday it intends to host a series of townhall sessions - both in-person and online - to continue engaging customers to address their concerns. In a media invite last September, Cordlife talked up its new laboratory monitoring system to keep track of storage tank temperatures remotely and how it had hired more experienced laboratory staff and technicians to "elevate standards further". ACCREDITATION Cordlife added on Friday that it is also working closely with the Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies (AABB) and the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT) to restore both accreditations for its Singapore operations. In December 2023, it lost its cellular therapy accreditation with FACT. The suspension will last indefinitely, "at a minimum until FACT's investigations are completed and issues are resolved", Cordlife then said. AABB followed suit in August last year, with the international blood bank body withdrawing Cordlife's accreditation for the collection, processing, storage and distribution of cord blood. The company also provided an update on its Singapore operations, which were given the go-ahead by authorities to fully resume in January. "While collection rates remain below the company's pre-incident average, the full resumption of its Singapore operations represents an encouraging step forward in restoring client confidence and rebuilding operational momentum," it said. "The company has also strengthened and renewed its relationships with the medical community, particularly in Singapore. It has been proactively engaging hospitals, doctors, nurses and other stakeholders within the medical community to ensure they are fully informed on the company's rectification efforts and improved procedures," Cordlife added. Cordlife said it would continue to expand its outreach initiatives with the aim of returning to "pre-incident levels of performance" and would continue to update shareholders when there are material developments. For the financial year ending Dec 31, 2024, the group's revenue fell 50.4 per cent to S$27.6 million (US$21.4 million), with Cordlife primarily attributing the decline to the suspension of its Singapore operations. Its FY2024 revenue in Singapore was minus S$2 million, a steep reverse from S$24.7 million in 2023. NEW GROUP CEO In a separate bourse filing, Cordlife said it had appointed current group executive director Chen Xiaoling as its group CEO and Singapore CEO with effect from Thursday. The board said that it had considered Ms Chen's "proven track record" within the group as well as her qualifications, working experience, leadership capabilities and contributions. She will continue to serve as group executive director alongside her new roles, it added. Ms Chen was among nine people arrested earlier in connection with the mishandling of cord blood units. Non-independent non-executive directors, Mr Zhai Lingyun, Mr Yiu Ming Yiu and Mr Chow Wai Leong, Cordlife's chief financial officer Ms Thet Hnin Yi, the company's former Group CEO Tan Poh Lan, acting chairman Ho Choon Hou as well as independent directors Yeo Hwee Tiong and Titus Jim Cheong Tuck Yan were previously arrested and released on bail. In relation to a separate police report that was lodged by Cordlife's board of directors in April last year over "potential wrongdoings" of former employees amid an internal probe into why the cord blood units in one of the tanks were damaged, the company said it had not received any update regarding that case. "The company will continue to provide its full cooperation to the relevant authorities, as and when needed, for any subsequent investigations in connection with the police report," it said in a separate bourse filing on Friday.
