SINGAPORE: Singapore-listed cord blood bank Cordlife has been in the spotlight for damaging cord blood units belonging to at least 2,150 clients, with another 17,000 clients possibly affected.
These cord blood units were stored in seven tanks that were exposed to temperatures above acceptable limits.
This was made public in November 2023 when the Ministry of Health (MOH) announced that investigations against Cordlife were ongoing. MOH had received a complaint from a member of the public on Jul 24 about alleged issues with a storage tank.
It has since emerged that Cordlife’s board knew of the issue in February.
Parents have demanded answers from Singapore’s longest-running private cord blood bank, with many saying they should have been informed earlier.
Here is a timeline of events.
February, March, June 2022: An estimated 2,200 cord blood units in one of the affected tanks were exposed to temperatures beyond acceptable limits for several days, according to Cordlife’s inventory records provided to MOH.
September 2022: MOH conducted an inspection of Cordlife as part of a biennial routine. No lapses relating to the temperature of the storage tanks were found. Cordlife did not disclose any incidents during or after the routine inspection.
February 2023: Cordlife’s board was informed by its management that one of its cord blood tanks had been exposed to irregular temperatures over several days in June 2022.
The board assessed the financial impact of the incident and deemed that there would be “no material impact” on the company’s performance for the financial year that ended on Dec 31, 2022, and the one ending on Dec 31, 2023. Based on this, the board did not make an announcement.
Jul 24, 2023: A member of the public lodged a complaint with MOH, alleging that cord blood units stored in a Cordlife tank had been exposed to temperatures above 0 degrees Celsius in addition to other service quality issues.