Cordlife allowed to resume cord blood banking services with restrictions

SINGAPORE: Cordlife has been given the green light to resume cord blood banking services in a limited manner, after a months-long suspension over its mishandling of cord blood units.
The company may collect, test, process and store no more than 30 units of new cord blood per month, from Sep 15, 2024, to Jan 13, 2025.
These restrictions are to safeguard the interest of its customers, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Thursday (Aug 29) after issuing a notice to Cordlife allowing it to resume services in a “controlled manner”.
“MOH’s notice is pending Cordlife’s written representations,” the ministry added.
Cordlife, Singapore’s longest-running private cord blood bank, was initially hit with a six-month suspension in December 2023, shortly after it was announced that seven of its storage tanks were exposed to temperatures above acceptable limits.
About 2,200 cord blood units were damaged in the first tank, which affected at least 2,150 clients.
In April, MOH said that another 5,300 cord blood units stored in a second tank and dry shipper were deemed “non-viable”.
The six-month suspension was extended by another three months on Jun 15 this year for Cordlife to complete the validation of its new cord blood processing method.
Follow-up audits conducted by MOH in August showed that Cordlife has met the essential requirements to resume its provision of cord blood banking services, said the ministry. 
“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,” it added.
“Nevertheless, MOH has asked that Cordlife adopt a carefully calibrated approach to gradually ramp up the provision of its services to ensure the welfare of its customers. This is also considering that Cordlife has undergone significant changes in its governance, manpower and processes.” 
MOH said it will continue to closely monitor Cordlife’s operational stability, staff capabilities and continued compliance with its regulatory requirements. The company’s next licence renewal is on Jan 13, 2025.
The troubled company said in May this year that a “significant number” of clients whose cord blood units were damaged have accepted refunds. 
Cordlife posted a loss of S$12.35 million (US$9.4 million) for the first half of the year, compared to a net profit of S$2.2 million in the same period a year ago.
The decline includes about S$9.7 million for the waiver of subsequent fees for clients who had stored cord blood in its high-risk tanks, as well as contract liabilities related to future storage obligations of affected clients.
A total of nine arrests have been made so far amid investigations into the company’s mishandling of cord blood units. 
Among them is one of its directors Zhai Lingyun, who was arrested on Jul 25 and released on bail after attending an interview with the police’s Commercial Affairs Department. 
Others include Cordlife’s chief financial officer Ms Thet Hnin Yi, the company’s former Group CEO Tan Poh Lan, acting chairman Ho Choon Hou, as well as non-independent non-executive directors Ms Chen Xiaoling, Mr Yiu Ming Yiu and Mr Chow Wai Leong.