SINGAPORE: Investigations to determine the extent of temperature excursions for the six other affected storage tanks at private cord blood bank Cordlife and the viability of the stored cord blood in them “should take another six weeks or so”, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said on Friday (Dec 8).
In a Facebook post, Mr Ong also advised parents to hold off on requests to transfer cord blood units currently stored with Cordlife to other cord blood banks until the full impact of the breaches is known in a few weeks.
He added that the Ministry of Health (MOH) has held discussions with other cord blood banks, who are “prepared to help”.
“This is because if a unit is assessed to be unaffected, and Cordlife can strengthen its processes, it may be riskier to make a switch given the logistical complexity of making a physical transfer,” Mr Ong said.
Cordlife, which is listed on the Singapore Exchange, is under investigation after seven of its tanks storing cord blood units were exposed to temperatures above acceptable limits.
The affected storage tanks were found to have been exposed to temperatures above -150 degrees Celsius, the acceptable limit for cord blood units.
Around 2,200 cord blood units – stored in one of the seven affected tanks – belonging to approximately 2,150 clients have been damaged. Another 17,000 clients could be affected, pending investigations into the other six tanks.
Cordlife has been given 14 days to make representations to MOH.
Meanwhile, the company was ordered to stop the collection, testing, processing and/or storage of any new cord blood and human tissues, or provide any new types of tests to patients, for a period of up to six months.
Cordlife’s cellular therapy accreditation by the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT) has since been suspended indefinitely.
Another global body, the Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies (AABB), has also commenced investigations and is collecting information to determine the next steps regarding the accreditation status of Cordlife’s facility.
The company said in a regulatory filing on Thursday the updates by both bodies will “not impact” its cord blood storage operations.