Health x Wellness
World First: BMDP to Fully Subsidise Stem Cell Procurement for Local Patients
Starting in 2026, the Bone Marrow Donor Programme (BMDP) will become the first and only volunteer marrow donor registry in the world to fully cover the cost of stem cell procurement for eligible patients.
This major enhancement is part of a comprehensive strategy to ensure that financial barriers never deny a Singaporean or Permanent Resident (PR) a life-saving transplant.
The announcement was made at the Match for Life 2025 event, where the BMDP detailed its enhanced Patient Subsidy Schemes, which take effect from 1 January 2026. The revisions are designed to broaden financial coverage and align with evolving treatment methods.
“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,” said Charles Loh, CEO of BMDP.
Financial Barriers Completely Removed
The most significant change is the full funding (100 percent) of stem cell procurement costs for subsidised Singaporean and PR patients in public hospitals who are matched with a donor from the national BMDP registry.
This full funding initiative replaces the previous tiered subsidy structure for two core schemes:
- Verification Typing (VT) Subsidy (Scheme 1): Covers the costs of confirming a donor’s genetic compatibility.
- HPC Procurement Subsidy (Scheme 2): Covers the costs of obtaining stem cells or bone marrow from the local BMDP donor.
This change is expected to increase accessibility and encourage greater use of the national donor registry. The full subsidy of stem cell procurement cost is of great significance for all subsidised patients receiving a transplant from a Singapore donor.
Expanded Support for Complex Treatments
Beyond the procurement costs, the BMDP is also broadening the reach of its support framework to include patients undergoing newer and more complex treatments.
Effective from January 2026, patients undergoing Mismatched Unrelated Donor (MMUD) transplants and CAR-T cell therapy will now be eligible for two additional critical support schemes:
- Transplant-Related Cost Subsidy (Scheme 3): Provides up to SGD 50,000 to offset hospital charges related to the transplant, such as ward fees, procedures, and medication.
- Post-Transplant Allowance (Scheme 4): Offers a monthly allowance of SGD 500 for up to 12 months to help cover living and medical follow-up expenses during the recovery period, when patients may not yet be able to return to work.
These enhancements mean BMDP’s end-to-end subsidy framework now supports patients from donor search through transplant to post-transplant care. With these additions, the total annual patient subsidy budget is projected to reach approximately SGD 1.5 million from 2026 onwards, an increase of about SGD 400,000 from 2025.
Rallying Workplace Support
To complement its patient financial support, the BMDP also launched its Corporate Partner Programme at Match for Life 2025.
This programme was inspired by a 2024 national survey that revealed 41 percent of respondents were unsure if their employers would support them if they were found to be a marrow match. The initiative seeks to close this gap by rallying organisations to stand behind employees who volunteer as potential marrow donors.
Participating companies, which already include 26 organisations from various sectors for the first edition , are encouraged to host donor recruitment drives and offer volunteer leave to matched employees.
BMDP is aiming to rally 60 corporate partners by the end of 2025, underscoring the vital role these partners play in reducing donor dropout.
Picture credit to BMDP.
