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Philanthropy

The philanthropic arm of the ACP aims to:

  • To develop a strong network of philanthropic donors and engage in fundraising activities for initiatives and programmes developed under MSKSC ACP;
  • To establish the setup of donor endowments and professorships and collaborate with industry partners to develop sponsorship for MSKSC ACP programmes;
  • To project infrastructural requirements and collaborate with campus development stakeholders to develop key facilities for the respective multidisciplinary initiatives.

Philanthropic Cases for Support

A. Support for Paediatric Congenital Hand Deformities by Dr Robert Yap & Dr Darryl Chew

Children born with congenital hand differences face unique challenges. They bear physical differences of one or both upper limbs at birth. Often these are absent parts, referred to as "congenital amputations", or malformed structures, referred to as "limb deficiencies". Other differences include addition or enlargement, fused or webbed digits. Several relate to conditions in the body such as Thrombocytopenia Absent Radius and Poland Syndrome. Some congenital hand differences are genetic. These children may not be able to perform their activities in the same way as their able-bodied peers, and often face anxiety and poorer peer relations.

Parents of a child with a congenital hand difference have common concerns with regard to the cause. The explanation or reason for a congenital hand difference is usually unknown. They face issues including self-guilt, rejection and shattered dreams.

The mission of the Hand Differences Support Group (HanDSup!) is to provide support to children with upper limb differences and their families. We aim to connect such families, share experiences and supply information to parents, affected children and their siblings.  We emphasise their abilities, not their disabilities. Your funding support will be channelled into these specific areas:

1) Needy Patient Fund
Children of needy families may benefit from different supports such as adaptive strategies, assistive devices, prosthetic devices, therapeutic interventions and / or surgical interventions.

2) Regular activities and information sharing sessions
Through regular meet ups and weekend getaways, we seek to improve the self-esteem, psychosocial well-being, physical function, activity participation and peer relationships of these children and their parents. These activities inform the kids that there are many others like them out there, manage negative reactions from others regarding the appearance of their hand and allows them to learn from one another. Likewise, the families can also learn and grow and share.

3) Resource library
Families often struggle to find the tools they need to raise healthy, well-adjusted kids with congenital hand differences. Establishing a resource centre, both online and offline, allow families to tap on relevant sources of support, providing them with signposts to follow and prepare their children for life in an able-bodied world.

4) Healthcare provider training
Healthcare workers involved in the direct care of these children need specific training in identifying the psychosocial stresses faced by these children and their families and how to go about addressing these concerns. They will benefit in learning from established groups based overseas through attending conferences and workshops and adapting the experience to the local context in order to improve outcomes and make a positive impact. 

B. Support for Spinal Cord Injury Patients by Dr Dinesh Kumar, Dr Jiang Lei & Dr Kappaganthu Prasanna

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a disabling disease that preferentially affects young patients at their peak productivity ages. Besides the loss of function, the financial cost to the society is substantial: up to US$5 million per patient/ lifetime in the United States. Current treatment of SCI is supportive without effective means of motor restoration. Recent advances in spinal cord epidural electronic stimulation (EES) have enabled patients with paralysis to regain the ability to walk one day after neuroprosthetic device implantation, pointing to a promising future of motor restoration for patients with SCI.

Whilst clinical trials involving neuroprosthetic device implantation have been initiated for patients with spinal cord injury in European and North American centres, there have been limited trials in Asia. Our team of neuroscientists, surgeons and rehabilitation specialists are dedicated to initiating a neurostimulation programme for patients with debilitating neurological disorders such as spinal cord injury. We aim to pioneer the use of neuroprosthetic devices in patients with paralysis due to chronic spinal cord injury, studying the novel use of electronic stimulation to restore function and movement in these patients. The success of our efforts will pave the way for clinical use of neuroprosthetic devices in patients with paralysis, changing the paradigm of care for spinal cord injury.

Your generous donation will fund the conduct of this pioneering clinical trial, allowing patients with chronic paralysis due to spinal cord injury to undergo the implantation of these neuroprosthetic devices and giving them a chance to walk and move again after years of paralysis. Additionally, the funds will be used in outreach activities for the physically disabled, opening the opportunities of neurostimulation to previously underserved populations of patients with paralysis.

With your help, we can transform the care of spinal cord injury and enable patients to look forward to a future without debilitating paralysis. 

C. Support for Skin Culture Programme by A/Prof Ong Yee Siang & A/Prof Alvin Chua

The SGH Burn Centre (SBC) is the only specialized facility which is dedicated to serve all critical and major burn injuries in Singapore and the Southeast Asian region. On average, the SBC serves 200 burn patients per year, of which 10 will sustain severe and extensive burn injuries which will require cellular and tissue-engineered products. While such serious cases are few, many of these were from high-profile incidences that had captured media attention.


The skin culture laboratory (SCL) under SBC has the technology of growing patient's own skin stem cells from a small skin biopsy (of not more than 4cm2) and expanding them into sheets enough to resurface burns with more than 50% of total body surface area injured. This form of cell therapy called cultured epithelial autograft (CEA) is considered a life-saving procedure for major burns.

With the recent implementation of Health Products (Cell, Tissue and Gene Therapy Products) Regulations for cell therapy products to conform to a highly-stringent pharmaceutical quality standard and environment, there would be substantial increase (of 4.65 times more) to the total CEA costing charged to a patient when SCL conforms to the required standard in 2 years' time. As an example, a patient who uses 2000cm2 (20 pieces of 100cm2) of CEA sheets now would pay S$25,784 compared to S$119,820 in the near future.

As part of this switch towards newly-mandated standard for cellular therapy and clinical trial use, education and training are required for burns surgeons and laboratory staff to fully understand its workings and requirements and thereby, provide CEA sheets of the highest standards to patients.

And in the realm of research, SCL has also been working to develop more advanced and cost-effective skin substitutes and cell culture system for CEA sheets to improve wound healing and engraftment on burn patients. There are 2 potential products in the pipeline ready to be assessed in clinical-trial studies.
 

D. Support for Biomechanics Research by A/Prof Denny Lie & A/Prof Andy Yew

1. Vision

The vision of the lab is to advance orthopaedics biomechanics research at Singapore General Hospital. We believe that such undertaking will allow us to establish a credible global reputation as an outstanding academic clinical programme centre that can influence the future of healthcare through cutting edge research, and in the process improves the quality of life through the development of new and better diagnostic and treatment approaches. These strategies are based on innovations derived from high quality collaborative research in different areas of engineering and medical sciences undertaken by a dedicated and diverse team of orthopaedic surgeons, researchers, allied health practitioners and students. The robotic testing systems and the lab shall serve as a multi-disciplinary core facility that promotes collaboration between investigators.


2. Aims
To conduct in vitro orthopaedic biomechanics research through the application of engineering principles so as to understand the biological processes and mechanisms related to the function and failure of the musculoskeletal system.
To encourage clinicians to undertake independent, high quality research in orthopaedic biomechanics.
To apply biomechanical principles to the development of better surgical techniques, medical devices and implants for the treatment of musculoskeletal disorders and injuries.

3. Objectives
Foster collaboration between clinicians and engineers so as to provide better treatment for patients with any form of musculoskeletal disorders and injuries.
Provide a research and educational platform for our clinicians to develop lifelong interest in orthopaedic biomechanics.
Develop a core team of clinician scientists and researchers with deep and wide extent of knowledge and expertise in orthopaedic biomechanics.

4. Target users
Anyone who has interest in orthopaedic biomechanics research.
 

See below for a list of philanthropic events: