SINGAPORE’S Ministry of Health (MOH) is working closely with Cordlife : P8A 0% to address the cord blood banking company’s shortcomings, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung on Friday (Dec 8).

Noting that investigations were still ongoing, he outlined steps that the Health Ministry would take in the coming weeks, while ascertaining the viability of the cord blood units in the six tanks that had experienced temperature changes.

To recap, Cordlife received a six-month suspension notice from MOH after seven out of its 22 cord-blood storage tanks were found to have been kept at temperatures above acceptable limits. These tanks, in deep freeze, held a total of 19,500 cord-blood units belonging to 19,200 clients.

In a Facebook post on Friday, Ong said that investigations should take another six weeks or so. In the interim, MOH will supervise Cordlife’s cord-blood banking activities and inventory management, and ensure that the company implements processes that are in line with regulations.

To parents who have requested a transfer of the cord-blood units banked with Cordlife to another cord-blood bank, MOH has advised them to hold off on these requests until the full impact of the breaches is known in the coming weeks.

“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,” Ong noted.

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The health ministry had had discussions with other cord blood banks, which have indicated that they are prepared to help.

Beyond these immediate measures to protect the interests of the public and Cordlife’s clients, MOH will also ensure all relevant industry players “learn from this episode”, Ong added.

MOH will also follow up with the “necessary regulatory and enforcement actions” against Cordlife, depending on the findings of the probe.

“This is to ensure proper accountability, and to underscore the importance of industry players adhering to the required regulatory standards,” Ong said.

Following the MOH suspension, Cordlife had its accreditation suspended indefinitely by the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy on Dec 5. However, the company noted in a statement late on Dec 7 that the suspension would not affect storage operations at its Singapore facility.

The investigation by the Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies will also not affect the storage of cord blood units at Cordlife Singapore.

Cordlife Group had been accredited by the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy since November 2015; it has held its accreditation from the Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies for 18 years.

Shares of Cordlife were trading 1.7 per cent or S$0.005 higher at S$0.30 as at 4.15 pm on Friday.