The Ministry of Health bars it from collecting, processing or storing more than 30 units of new cord blood each month between Sep 15 and Jan 13, 2025
EMBATTLED cord-blood bank Cordlife will be allowed to resume cord-blood banking services “in a controlled manner” from Sep 15, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Thursday (Aug 29).
However, to safeguard the interest of its customers, it will not be allowed to collect, test, process and/or store more than 30 units of new cord blood each month, from Sep 15 to Jan 13, 2025, said the ministry.
MOH’s notice on Thursday is pending Cordlife’s written representations.
To recap, the cord-blood bank was told to stop the collection, testing, processing and/or storage of new cord blood for a period of six months from Dec 15, 2023.
This was extended by an additional three months on Jun 15 for Cordlife to complete the validation of its new cord-blood processing method.
Follow-up audits by MOH showed that Cordlife had met the essential requirements to resume its provision of cord-blood banking services, said the ministry in its statement on Thursday.
“For example, Cordlife has validated its new cord-blood processing method, implemented a new temperature monitoring system with acceptable temperature monitoring practices, and streamlined its incident tracking and escalation workflow,” said MOH.
The ministry will continue to monitor Cordlife’s operational stability, staff capabilities and continued compliance with regulatory requirements, up to its next licence renewal on Jan 13, 2025.
Shares of Cordlife ended at S$0.122, up 0.8 per cent or S$0.001.
