Cordlife’s six-month suspension to take effect from Dec 15

CORDLIFE’S six-month suspension by the Ministry of Health (MOH) will take effect from Dec 15, it said on Friday (Dec 15).

During the suspension period, the cord blood banking company will have to cease collecting, testing, processing and/or storing any new cord blood and human tissues. It also cannot provide any new types of tests to patients.

It will also have to work hard to regain the trust of MOH and the public in its internal protocols, processes and standards of clinical governance during the suspension period and thereafter.

Cordlife received the six-month suspension notice from MOH after seven 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.

The company had accepted MOH’s suspension notice a day earlier, and said then that it will not make written representations to the ministry on the notice.

Shares of Cordlife closed 4.8 per cent or S$0.015 higher at S$0.325 on Friday, before the announcement.