Singapore Cord Blood Bank, the only public bank in Singapore, was opened in September 2005 in response to demand from medical professionals. It aims to increase the number of cord blood units available for unrelated stem cell transplant patients. Ten hospitals, including KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital and Singapore General Hospital, offer public cord blood donation and direct family cord blood banking.
In contrast, Singapore has three private cord blood banks: Cordlife, Cryoviva, and Stemcord. Private banks allow parents to store their child’s cord blood exclusively for their personal use. Cordlife charges an annual fee of S$250, with ownership of the cord blood transferred to the child at 21. Stemcord offers pricing plans as low as S$0.80 per day, while Cryoviva’s pricing is not publicly available. All three private banks accept payments through the Child Development Account.
It is worth noting that the global cord blood banking market was valued at US$1.3 billion in 2020 and is projected to reach US$4.5 billion in the next decade. Singapore Cord Blood Bank also offers private cord blood banking, allowing parents to store the units for their family and potentially donate them to the public inventory if they meet the necessary criteria.
