If you are between the ages of 17 to 50, in good health and fully understand the implications of bone marrow donation, we invite you to register as a potential bone marrow donor at any of the donor centre listed below. We will take a small blood sample (via a finger prick) to test and establish your HLA*tissue type. This initial testing is done on blood and not marrow.
Do note that we will only be in touch with you for your consent to donate marrow, only if your HLA* (tissue type) matches perfectly with that of the patient in need.
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Addresses:
Health Sciences Authority
11 Outram Road Singapore 169078
Tel: (65) 6327 1344
Tuesday to Friday: 9.00 am - 6.00 pm
Closed on Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays
National University Hospital
Blood Donation Centre Level 1, Main Building 1
5 Lower Kent Ridge Road Singapore 119074
Tel: (65) 6772 5356
Monday to Friday: 8.00 am - 5.00 pm
Saturday: 8.30 am - 12.30 pm
Extended hours on Wednesday until 7.30 pm.
Closed on Sundays and Public Holidays
SGH Haematology Centre
Singapore General Hospital Block 7, Level 2
Tel: (65) 6321 4722
Weekdays: 9.00am to 4.00pm
Saturdays: 9.00am to 12.00noon
By Hetty Musfirah Abdul Khamid, Channel NewsAsia
Posted: 09 October 2008 2225 hrs
SINGAPORE: There is a global shortage of bone marrow donors, especially among minority groups, and the situation in Singapore is no different.
Of 43,000 donors registered with the Bone Marrow Donor Programme (BMDP) since it started in 1993, Indian and Malay donors only make up a mere 8 per cent.
Thus, BMDP is embarking on a campaign to educate and recruit some 5,000 donors, especially among the minority communities.
Each day in Singapore, at least six people are diagnosed with leukaemia, lymphoma and other blood related diseases, and 34-year-old Sebha Elizabeth Punnem is one of them.
Diagnosed with leukaemia in April 2008, she is now recovering after a transplant from a German donor in August through a successful search done by BMDP.
However, not all patients are as lucky. The possibility of finding a suitable donor is 1 in 4 among siblings, and 1 in 20,000 for outsiders.
In Singapore, experts say it is not difficult to find donors for Chinese patients, as they can also come from Taiwan or China. But finding a match for Malay and Indian patients is harder.
In 2007, only one of 11 Malay patients received a match and transplant. However, there was not a single match for the 11 Indian patients in the same year.
Senior consultant at the department of paediatrics at National University Hospital, Associate Professor Quah Thuan Chong, said: "Of all the three races in Singapore, it is not difficult to find donors for the Chinese patients because if we cannot find them in Singapore, we can find them in Taiwan, or China.
"But so far, India does not have a good registry, so sometimes we might get donors from the United States. For the Malays, it is even more difficult, as there are very few Malays in the western countries."
Professor Quah added that though the blood type of Malay patients is quite close to the Indonesians, Malaysians and Filipinos, unfortunately, all three countries do not have extensive bone marrow registers.
Hence, there is a need to expand the register of donors in Singapore. In the next three months, there will be a recruitment campaign, which also serves to dispel any misconceptions the public may have.
President of the BMDP, Jane Prior, said: "The important thing is that, being a bone marrow donor or being on our register, it is a finger prick, it is not giving us a sample of your bone marrow, we don't want that at this stage.
"We just want a drop of blood, we like (to obtain) contact details and then you go about your business, back to work, whatever it may be, and if you come up as a match, only at that time will you be asked to do a bone marrow donation."
The campaign will include road shows at Singapore's main shopping centres such as Millenia Walk and Suntec City.
- CNA/yt