Skip Ribbon Commands
Skip to main content
A- A A+

Newsroom

27
Aug
2023

A life full of miracles

The Sunday Times © SPH Media Limited. Reproduced with permission

Lawyer Jennifer Yeo started the Viva Foundation for Children with Cancer in 2006 after her son had leukaemia. After being diagnosed at the age of three, Frederick underwent rounds of chemotherapy, suffered two relapses and a second cancer on top of the first, endured a bone marrow transplant and coped with a difficult recovery. 
 
Through his doctor at NUH, Frederick was selected by the St Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee in the US for a transplant in 2004. The Yeos did not have to pay for the treatment as it was part of the hospital’s research to improve cure rates. 

Media ArticlesNUH in the News
16
Aug
2023

Cancer among younger Americans is on the rise, new study shows

Others

A recent study published in JAMA Network Open has highlighted a concerning trend of increasing cancer rates among younger Americans, particularly women. The study showed that cancers among people under 50 have slightly increased overall, with the largest increases seen in the 30 to 39 age group. Gastrointestinal, endocrine, and breast cancers were climbing at the fastest rates. 

The senior author of the study, Assistant Professor Daniel Huang from NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and Senior Consultant, Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, and Adult Liver Transplantation Programme, National University Centre for Organ Transplantation, National University Hospital, was cited in the reports.

Media ArticlesNUH in the NewsNUHS in the News
15
Aug
2023

本地器官捐赠率低 医生促加强宣导 (Local organ donation rate is low, doctors encourage greater awareness and understanding)

Mediacorp News

In a World Organ Donation Day feature, Dr Emmett Wong Tsz Yeung, Consultant in National University Centre for Organ Transplantation's (NUCOT) Adult Kidney Transplantation Programme, and National University Hospital’s (NUH) Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, explained that a kidney transplant is the best treatment for patients with kidney failure. The average waiting time for patients on the deceased donor waitlist is almost 10 years, while the median survival for patients on dialysis is about six to eight years. He also shared some of the reasons for low deceased and living kidney donor rates in Singapore. 

The report featured an NUH patient who is currently undergoing dialysis while waiting for a deceased donor kidney transplant. Her husband, who is not a suitable living donor for her, also shared how his wife’s experience made him aware of the importance of organ donation. He has since opted in for MTERA, where all his organs and tissues would be donated for transplant and treatment, as well as education and research after death. 

Media ArticlesNUH in the NewsNUHS in the News
15
Aug
2023

本地器官捐赠率低 医生促加强宣导 (Local organ donation rate is low, doctors encourage greater awareness and understanding)

Mediacorp News

In a World Organ Donation Day feature, Dr Emmett Wong Tsz Yeung, Consultant in NUCOT’s Adult Kidney Transplantation Programme, and NUH’s Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, explained that a kidney transplant is the best treatment for patients with kidney failure. The average waiting time for patients on the deceased donor waitlist is almost 10 years, while the median survival for patients on dialysis is about six to eight years. He also shared some of the reasons for low deceased and living kidney donor rates in Singapore. 

The report featured an NUH patient who is currently undergoing dialysis while waiting for a deceased donor kidney transplant. Her husband, who is not a suitable living donor for her, also shared how his wife’s experience made him aware of the importance of organ donation. He has since opted in for MTERA, where all his organs and tissues would be donated for transplant and treatment, as well as education and research after death.

Media ArticlesNUH in the News
14
Aug
2023

Health Matters: Can I live with just one kidney?

Channel NewsAsia

​In a World Organ Donation Day special live interview, Dr Hersharan Kaur Sran, Medical Director & Senior Consultant, Adult Kidney Transplantation Programme, National University Centre for Organ Transplantation, shared the reasons for a kidney donation, how challenging it is to find a right match, and the importance of living kidney donors. She highlighted that it is possible to live a normal life with one healthy kidney.

Media ArticlesNUH in the NewsNUHS in the News
14
Aug
2023

Health Matters: Can I live with just one kidney?

Channel NewsAsia

​In a World Organ Donation Day special live interview, Dr Hersharan Kaur Sran, Medical Director & Senior Consultant, Adult Kidney Transplantation Programme, NUCOT, shared the reasons for a kidney donation, how challenging it is to find a right match, and the importance of living kidney donors. She highlighted that it is possible to live a normal life with one healthy kidney.

Media ArticlesNUH in the News
2
Aug
2023

育儿有方:如何让孩子吃得好 (Good parenting: How to get children to eat well)

Channel NewsAsia

​Dr Tammy Lim, Consultant, Division of Paediatric Gastroenterology, Nutrition, Hepatology and Liver Transplantation, KTP-NUCMI, NUH, shared about baby-led weaning and what parents should look out for when they adopt this feeding practice. She highlighted that parents and caregivers should ensure that the child’s development is progressing normally before starting on baby-led weaning.

Media ArticlesNUH in the News
2
Aug
2023

Specialists in the Unusual: In life and in death

Channel NewsAsia

The third episode of CNA’s adaptation of Mediacorp Channel 8’s “Unusual Confessions” series featured four young healthcare professionals from NUH as they shed light on the concept of life, death and rebirth through their work.

In an IVF lab, embryologist Samuel Chong Yi from the Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology plays an important role in the miracle of life. Under a microscope, microsurgery instructor Siti Khadijah Mohd Yusoff from the Department of Hand & Reconstructive Microsurgery guides doctors in the intricate techniques of microsurgery. Within the ICU, brain death case manager Tan Chin Ling stands with a bereaved family throughout the brain death certification process. Senior transplant coordinator Joreen Poh from NUCOT spotlights the selfless act of kindness from an anonymous organ donor.

The episode also featured interviews with other healthcare professionals at NUH, including Chief Embryologist Joyce Elizabeth Mathew, Dr Chan Chung Ming, Consultant from the Department of Hand & Reconstructive Microsurgery, and Dr Tan Yanni, Senior Consultant from the Department of Anaesthesia.

Media ArticlesNUH in the News
1
Aug
2023

儿童误吞玩具或造成生命危险 但不是每次都必须直奔急诊室 (Children accidentally swallowing toys might be life-threatening but it does not always require visit to the Emergency Department)

Others

Media cited a study conducted by KTP-NUCMI at NUH and KKH, which analysed medical records of over 2,100 children and adolescents who swallowed foreign objects between 2015 and 2016, and found that the most commonly swallowed objects were coins (41 per cent), followed by toys such as beads and marbles (27 per cent). Toddlers between the ages of one and two, who are in the mouthing stage of their development, are at the highest risk of swallowing objects.
                 
A/Prof Marion Aw, Head & Senior Consultant from the Division of Paediatric Gastroenterology, Nutrition, Hepatology and Liver Transplantation at KTP-NUCMI, shared the symptoms to look out for in case of foreign body ingestion.

Media ArticlesNUH in the News
17
Jul
2023

Kids swallowing objects: How long does it take for a coin, battery or magnet to pass through?

Channel NewsAsia

The study conducted by KTP-NUCMI at NUH analysed medical records of over 2,100 children and adolescents who swallowed foreign objects between 2015 and 2016, and found that the most commonly swallowed objects were coins (41 per cent), followed by toys such as beads and marbles (27 per cent). Toddlers between the ages of one and two, who are in the mouthing stage of their development, are at the highest risk of swallowing objects.

A/Prof Marion Aw, Head and Senior Consultant from the Division of Paediatric Gastroenterology, Nutrition, Hepatology and Liver Transplantation at KTP-NUCMI, explained that coins were typically considered low-risk objects, while button batteries were classified as high-risk due to the potential for leakage of their contents, which could cause injury to the stomach or intestines. Understanding how long it takes for swallowed objects to pass out of the body would help paediatricians decide how soon the follow-up should be, said A/Prof Aw, who is also one of the researchers involved in the study.

Media ArticlesNUH in the News
17
Jul
2023

How long do kids swallowing objects take to pass?

Others

The study conducted by KTP-NUCMI at NUH analysed medical records of over 2,100 children and adolescents who swallowed foreign objects between 2015 and 2016, and found that the most commonly swallowed objects were coins (41 per cent), followed by toys such as beads and marbles (27 per cent). Toddlers between the ages of one and two, who are in the mouthing stage of their development, are at the highest risk of swallowing objects.

A/Prof Marion Aw, Head & Senior Consultant from the Division of Paediatric Gastroenterology, Nutrition, Hepatology and Liver Transplantation at KTP-NUCMI, explained that coins were typically considered low-risk objects, while button batteries were classified as high-risk due to the potential for leakage of their contents, which could cause injury to the stomach or intestines. Understanding how long it takes for swallowed objects to pass out of the body would help paediatricians decide how soon the follow-up should be, said A/Prof Aw, who is also one of the researchers involved in the study.

Media ArticlesNUH in the News
27
Jun
2023

储存脐带血 利人也利己 (Cord blood storage: Benefiting self and others)

联合早报 © SPH Media Limited. Reproduced with permission

​With Cord Blood Awareness Month in July, ZB spoke to Dr Tan Lip Kun and A/Prof Koh Liang Piu from the Department of Haematology-Oncology, National University Cancer Institute Singapore, on the benefits of cord blood storage and the various medical conditions that cord blood can help to treat.

Dr Tan, who is also Senior Consultant, Haematology Division, Department of Laboratory Medicine, National University Hospital, said cord blood is rich in haematopoietic stem cells and can be used for stem cell transplant for patients with malignant conditions or for non-malignant conditions. It is also a rich source of cells for use in regenerative medicine. The cells are stored in a frozen state and can be accessed years later if a patient needs it.

A/Prof Koh shared that more than 100 cord transplants have been performed in adult patients over the last 16 years. The outcome of transplant is comparable to that of international cord transplant registries with 40-50 per cent long term survival. A/Prof Koh is the Clinical Director, Adult Haematopoietic Cell Transplant Programme, National University Cancer Institute Singapore.

The doctors highlighted the difference between autologous cord blood banking (i.e. for the child's own use) and cord blood banking for allograft (i.e. for others to use). They encouraged public cord blood banking as there is low probability that the donor should ever need or benefit from his/her own cord blood unit.

Media ArticlesNCIS in the NewsNUHS in the News
21
Jun
2023

研究:孩童误吞异物 逾八成两周内自然排出 (Study: More than 80 per cent of foreign objects swallowed by children will be excreted naturally within two weeks)

联合早报 © SPH Media Limited. Reproduced with permission

A study by NUS Medicine students, NUH and KKH, found that among 350 cases of foreign body ingestion in children, more than 80 per cent of foreign bodies are passed out from the gastrointestinal tract within two weeks. The study also noted that the two most common objects ingested were coins (41 per cent) and toys (27 per cent). High-risk foreign objects such as magnets, batteries or sharp objects formed nine per cent of cases.

A/Prof Marion Aw, Head and Senior Consultant, Division of Paediatric Gastroenterology, Nutrition, Hepatology and Liver Transplantation, KTP-NUCMI, NUH, advised that symptoms to look out for in case of foreign body ingestion include complaints of throat, chest or abdominal pain, drooling (inability to swallow saliva), refusal to eat, vomiting, coughing and choking. Parents and caregivers are advised to bring their children to the emergency departments in case of any foreign body ingestion.

Media ArticlesNUH in the NewsNUHS in the News
18
Jun
2023

为捐肾救女儿 戒40年烟瘾调整作息 (Father quits smoking after 40 years to donate kidney and save daughter’s life)

联合早报 © SPH Media Limited. Reproduced with permission

​For Father’s Day, Lianhe Zaobao featured the story of how Mr Zhang Bao Cheng made significant lifestyle changes – including quitting a 40-year smoking habit – to donate one of his kidneys to his daughter after she was diagnosed with kidney failure. The transplant was successfully completed at NUCOT after a five-hour operation. 

Article cited Dr Hersharan Kaur Sran, Medical Director & Senior Consultant of the Adult Kidney Transplantation Programme, NUCOT, who explained that the brief period of organ rejection Ms Zhang experienced post-transplant was due to the presence of a small number of antibodies in her blood that rejected foreign organs and tissues. Following two weeks of treatment, Ms Zhang made a full recovery. Mr Zhang said the family was grateful to the doctors and healthcare team who supported them.

Media ArticlesNUH in the News
18
Jun
2023

Dads: What I did for love (Afraid of needles, but he donated kidney to his daughter)

The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Reproduced with permission

In celebration of Father’s Day, ST featured the story of Mr Sam Foo, who overcame his fear of needles to donate his kidney to his daughter, Celest. Diagnosed with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) at the age of four in 2005, Celest has been under the care of Prof Yap Hui Kim, Head & Emeritus Consultant, Division of Paediatric Nephrology, Dialysis and Renal Transplantation, KTP-NUCMI, NUH. After 15 years of battling the disease, Celest’s kidneys eventually failed and her father decided to undergo a rigorous series of medical procedures to qualify as a kidney donor.

The article highlighted that the transplant was successfully done at NUCOT – the only centre in Singapore that provides both adult and paediatric organ transplant services. Now 22 years old, Celest continues to visit Prof Yap, who is also Medical Director & Emeritus Consultant of the Paediatric Kidney Transplantation Programme, NUCOT, for follow-ups.

Media ArticlesNUH in the News
Load More

 

Back to Top