​The SingHealth Transplant Tissue Centre (TTC) has been successfully accredited by the American Association of Tissue Banks (AATB), making it the first tissue bank in Southeast Asia, and the second outside U.S. to earn the accreditation.  

The accreditation means that the Centre meets AATB's rigorous standards in quality for eligibility assessment and authorisation; as well as the recovery, professing, storage and distribution of skin, cardiac and vascular tissue for transplantation.
 
AATB-accredited organisations are recognised as leaders in tissue banking and are involved in the development new standards.

Associate Professor Tan Bien Keem, Director of TTC and Deputy Director of SingHealth Transplant, said, “TTC sought AATB accreditation because it reinforces our commitment to the establishment and maintenance of a quality programme leading to excellence in performance of tissue banking functions.”

TTC is a merger of the Singapore General Hospital Skin Bank Unit and the National Heart Centre Singapore National Cardiovascular Homograft Bank.  Prior to the accreditation, five of its staff had also attained AATB’s Certified Tissue Bank Specialist certification.