Starting from 2026, all Singaporean and PR patients in public hospitals matched with a local BMDP donor will have their procurement costs fully covered.
The announcement was made at Match for Life 2025, BMDP’s flagship event celebrating community spirit, where it also launched the Corporate Partner Programme to inspire more organisations to join the life-saving movement.
Singapore, 22 November 2025 – The Bone Marrow Donor Programme (BMDP) today announced it will be the first and only volunteer marrow donor registry in the world to fully subsidise the cost of patients’ stem cell procurement, effective from 1 January 2026. All Singaporean and Permanent Resident patients receiving treatments in public hospitals who are matched with a local donor through BMDP will be eligible.
The initiative is part of BMDP’s enhanced Patient Subsidy Schemes, introduced to broaden financial support and align with evolving treatment modalities. Following a comprehensive annual review earlier this year, the enhanced Schemes also extend to patients undergoing Mismatched Unrelated Donor (MMUD) transplants and CAR-T cell therapy under the BMDP-NUH Cellular Therapy Programme, who will be eligible for a Transplant-Related Cost Subsidy and Post-Transplant Allowance.
With these enhancements, BMDP’s total annual patient subsidy budget is projected to reach approximately S$1.5 million from 2026 onwards. More information on the Schemes can be found in the accompanying Factsheet.
Charles Loh, CEO, BMDP, said: “BMDP, being the only registry in the world to offer this level of patient support for its own citizens and permanent residents, is a major step forward in ensuring that no patient is denied a chance at life because of cost. We are now able to provide more assistance for patients, thanks to the generosity of our financial supporters.”
This announcement was made at Match for Life 2025, BMDP’s annual flagship initiative celebrating hope, compassion, and the life-saving power of community. Gracing the event as the Guest of Honour was Mr Dinesh Vasu Dash, Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth & Ministry of Manpower.
Held at Fernvale Community Club, the full-day carnival was the culmination of a two-week campaign, with the goal of growing a stronger support network for potential marrow donors in the hopes of saving more patients awaiting transplants.
Launch of Corporate Partner Programme
BMDP also launched its Corporate Partner Programme today, inspired by findings from a national survey they conducted in 2024, which revealed that 41 per cent of respondents were unsure if their employers would support them if they were found to be a marrow match.
The programme seeks to close this gap between willingness and perceived workplace support by rallying organisations across Singapore to stand behind employees who have volunteered to step forward as potential marrow donors. Participating companies and institutions are encouraged to host donor recruitment drives and offer volunteer leave to matched employees.
For its first edition, 26 organisations from various sectors, including tertiary institutions and government agencies, have already joined the programme. They include Animal & Avian Veterinary Clinic, Agency for Integrated Care, Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore, Energy Market Authority, Health Promotion Board, ISEAS, ITE College Central, Jurong Pioneer Junior College, National Council of Social Service, National Parks Board, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Republic Polytechnic, Singapore Polytechnic, Singapore University of Social Sciences, Tampines Meridian Junior College, Temasek Polytechnic, The American Chamber of Commerce (Singapore), Tzu-Chi Foundation (Singapore), and Singapore Red Cross.
As Singapore celebrates 60 years of nationhood, BMDP aims to rally 60 corporate partners under the programme by the end of 2025. It is BMDP’s hope that this will then lead to many more joining the programme. These partners play an essential role in promoting marrow donation awareness, facilitating recruitment drives at their offices, and providing time-off or volunteer leave for employees identified as potential matches. Showing their support can go a long way in reducing donor dropout. The Corporate Partner Programme is therefore a very important plank of the BMDP’s plans to do more for patients.
Agnes Ting, Head of Strategy and Partnership, Singapore Red Cross, Blood Donor Programme: “At Singapore Red Cross, we know that every blood donation, every drop of blood, as well as every bone marrow donation, could make a difference between life and loss. For workplace support, we also want to make sure that it is not a burden when you want to give, but it should be a shared responsibility between everybody.”
Dr Hsien-Hsien Lei, CEO, The American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) Singapore: “So the AmCham community believes that business goes beyond the business community. We need to have a presence and contribute to the entire community. Everyone must come together to save lives. And so, as AmCham, the representative of American Business, we would encourage corporates to step up so that we can turn the possibility of saving lives into the reality of saving lives.”
Dedication to Life-Saving Cause
Beyond corporate engagement, BMDP continues to grow its volunteer and donor communities.
This year, a total of 26 volunteers have gone above and beyond by leading donor drives and fundraising efforts that help expand Singapore’s donor registry – each new donor registration costs about S$180, fully borne by BMDP.
Thirteen volunteers were honoured on stage at Match for Life 2025 for their tireless contributions to BMDP’s mission.
To date, BMDP has received over 4,300 donor sign-ups, with a target of 5,500 by year-end.
About Bone Marrow Donor Programme (BMDP)
BMDP manages Singapore’s only register of volunteer marrow donors, providing that often, last chance of survival to hundreds of patients suffering from terminal blood-related diseases, in the form of a bone marrow transplant from an unrelated marrow donor.
Over the past 32 years, BMDP has expanded its registry to include over 127,000 marrow donors, facilitated over 1,000 patient transplants and overseen more than 500 marrow donations. BMDP is fully committed to building the local marrow donor register into a national asset to help all Singaporeans have that second chance at life, with their promise of “A donor for every patient”.
For more information, visit https://bmdp.org/.
