Cordlife Group Limited

NOTICE PAPER NO. 2778 

NOTICE OF QUESTION FOR ORAL ANSWER

FOR THE SITTING OF PARLIAMENT ON 7 MAY 2024

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin

MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC

Question No. 6073

To ask the Minister for Health as the Ministry carries out its supervision priority for Cordlife to rectify their shortcomings pending the investigations, whether there are strategies in place to ensure that (i) there will be open and clear communication between Cordlife and the parents affected and (ii) affected parents are well informed on potential ramifications of their decision to transfer their cord blood units to another private cord blood bank backed by scientific evidence, should they opt to do so.

NOTICE PAPER NO. 2785

NOTICE OF QUESTION FOR ORAL ANSWER

FOR THE SITTING OF PARLIAMENT ON 7 MAY 2024

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis

MP for Sengkang GRC

Question No. 6115

To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether the Ministry will assist customers whose cord blood units have been damaged while being stored by Cordlife with receiving a baseline level of compensation regardless of the type of service contract; (b) if so, how will this compensation be determined; and (c) if not, why not.

NOTICE PAPER NO. 2765 

NOTICE OF QUESTION FOR ORAL ANSWER

FOR THE SITTING OF PARLIAMENT ON OR AFTER 8 MAY 2024

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Mr Saktiandi Supaat

MP for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC

Question No. 6048

To ask the Minister for Health (a) what is the precise scope and extent of the Ministry’s regulatory action in the Cordlife incident involving damaged cord blood units; (b) how will the Ministry further intervene following international experts’ criticism of Cordlife’s announced one-year timeline to complete significant testing of its cord blood samples; and (c) how will the Ministry assist unaffected parents who wish to transfer their cord blood units to another service provider for greater peace of mind.

NOTICE PAPER NO. 2785

NOTICE OF QUESTION FOR ORAL ANSWER

FOR THE SITTING OF PARLIAMENT ON OR AFTER 08 MAY 2024

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong

MP for Hougang

Question No. 6116

To ask the Minister for Health whether the Ministry will consider strengthening the obligations of commercial cord blood banking service providers to include the requirement of a full refund of the initial contract fees or other earlier payments when these service providers are found to be responsible for any damage to cord blood units under their care, rendering such units unsuitable for stem cell transplant services.

Answer

1 Mr Speaker sir, may I have your permission to answer questions 2 to 5 on today’s Order Paper?  

2 We understand the anxiety and concerns amongst parents, as a result of the lapses at Cordlife Group Limited (“Cordlife”). Cord blood banking is an elective, commercial service provided by the private sector. Customers entered into a commercial contract with the service providers when they sign up, and MOH is not a party to these contracts. Government cannot overstep the law, there are limits to which the Government can intervene, especially when it comes to issues of compensation and refunds.

3 What MOH is actively doing is with respect to  regulation and facilitation.  The ministry will be supervising the proper completion of further tests in the affected tanks, to achieve a high level of confidence in the findings. Given the sample sizes and testing capacity available, this will take another year.  

4 MOH will also closely monitor Cordlife’s dissemination of information to its customers and the public, as well as progress in addressing the deficiencies identified and in making improvements. These include directing Cordlife to properly validate and implement its new temperature monitoring system, re-validate its processing method for cord blood units, and enhance staff training and supervision of its operations more closely.

5 MOH has also discussed with other providers, who are prepared to facilitate transfer of their cord blood units. Parents who wish to do so can contact Cordlife and the receiving cord blood bank to discuss the transfer arrangements. That said, we urge parents to carefully consider the risks of doing so, given the logistical complexity of making a physical transfer at sub-zero temperatures, particularly so when the cord blood is not ascertained to be impacted.