OYK received many emails and messages.
5 h ·
I have received many emails and messages since
Ministry of Health, Singapore announced its investigation into Cordlife Group Limited for their breaches that compromised the cord blood units under their custody. Many parents are understandably upset and distressed.
Investigations are still ongoing. For example, we are ascertaining the extent of temperature excursions for the other six affected tanks and the viability of the stored cord blood units within. This should take another six weeks or so. We are also at the same time working to uncover the reasons for the breaches. Nevertheless, we wanted to disclose publicly what we had found out first, which is why MOH put out a statement last week.
Other than further investigations, MOH has taken or will be taking the following steps, in the coming weeks.
First, we are working closely with Cordlife in the interim to address their shortcomings. We are closely supervising their cord blood banking activities and inventory management. We will ensure that Cordlife implements effective processes to adhere to requirements under the Healthcare Services (Cord Blood Banking Service) Regulations and prevent similar incidents from happening in future.
Second, in response to parents’ request for us to facilitate the transfer of the cord blood units banked with Cordlife to another cord blood bank, MOH has held discussions with the other cord blood banks, who are prepared to help. However, we advise that parents hold off these requests for now, until the full impact of the breaches are known in a few 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.
Third, beyond these immediate measures to protect the interest of the public and Cordlife’s clients, MOH will ensure that all relevant industry players learn from this episode.
Finally, depending on the findings of our investigations, we will follow up with the necessary regulatory and enforcement actions against Cordlife, given the severity of the breaches and the impact on clients. This is to ensure proper accountability, and to underscore the importance of industry players to adhere to the required regulatory standards.
We will continue to keep the parents updated.