Cordlife's latest lapses rattle parents, with some reconsidering legal action

SINGAPORE: Parents who stored their children's cord blood with Cordlife are seeking answers and considering legal options again after a government audit revealed fresh lapses.

A Ministry of Health (MOH) audit in July found issues with the collection, processing and testing of 160 new cord blood units collected since January. The audit also showed that three out of five tanks previously thought to be low risk had not met the criteria for viability and potency.

The latest findings have rattled parents, including those who had earlier been assured by Cordlife that their children's cord blood was safe.

Problems at Cordlife first emerged in November 2023, when MOH announced it was investigating the company for storing cord blood units in tanks at sub-optimal temperatures. One tank with about 2,200 cord blood units was deemed non-viable.

LEGAL OPTIONS

Some parents are again exploring legal action.

Ms Shanta Sundarason, whose youngest daughter’s cord blood was among those affected by Cordlife’s earlier mishandling, had fronted efforts to take legal action against the Singapore-listed company.

That stalled amid rising legal costs and parents' calls for more clarity on the investigations.

But she said the latest audit results, which showed even "low risk" tanks failing to meet standards, have eroded trust further.

"Even so-called 'safe' batches have now been found to be compromised. The trust is gone," said Ms Shanta, 57, a corporate gifts and grants associate.

She added that parents are also looking into whether Cordlife has insurance coverage for such "calamities".

In an August bourse filing, Cordlife said it received a letter of demand on Jul 31 from a law firm acting for a group of affected clients claiming damages for breach of contract and negligence.

This was in addition to two letters of demand it received on Mar 28 from other affected parents.

Ms Shanta, a mother of three, expressed frustration that the firm was allowed to resume its business before the investigation into the five tanks was complete. Cordlife had its licence for cord blood and human tissue banking services renewed for a year in January. 

Calling Cordlife's compensation offer "disgraceful and insulting", she said that it did not cover the tens of thousands forked out by parents. 

"In my case, what they offered was peanuts compared to the trust, money, and irreplaceable resource that has been lost."

CHILDREN'S CORD BLOOD STATUS UNCLEAR

In the weeks after the mishandling came to light in 2023, Cordlife contacted parents to inform them of the status of their children’s cord blood, including whether the units were in affected or "low risk" tanks.

One parent, Ms Aiza Bumacod, said she received an email from the cord blood bank on Tuesday morning that her son's cord blood unit, which is in one of the "low risk" tanks, was unaffected. 

In part of the email seen by CNA, Cordlife said that her child's cord blood unit "remains safe" and "is not housed in the affected tanks". 

"The recent news does not change the status of your child's cord blood unit," the company said, adding that the possible suspension "does not impact the ongoing storage and safety" of her son's cord blood.

But not all parents have received new updates.

One parent, who stored both of his daughters’ cord blood with Cordlife, said he was uncertain if they were affected in the latest round of updates.

Mr Ken Tan, 50, said his younger daughter’s cord blood was in the "low risk" tank, and he had paid close to S$10,000 (US$7,750) to store her cord blood in 2012. 

He was still making yearly payments for his elder daughter, whose cord blood has been stored since 2008. Cordlife had informed him via email in 2023 that this unit was unaffected, but Mr Tan is less certain with the latest update. 

The sales director said he was "past the stage of anger" at this point, as the issue had been "dragging" since 2023. 

"I sort of gave up, because I think there is no more positive outcome coming out of it. I don’t want to waste too much time and energy thinking about it."

Other parents are pressing on.

Ms Alicia Fan told CNA that Cordlife had called her for payment on Monday morning, before the news broke that it was facing a possible one-year suspension. 

The 49-year-old public servant had stored her twin sons’ cord blood with Cordlife and is on an annual payment scheme until the boys turn 21. 

"Cordlife claimed that my twins’ storage is not affected. But honestly, I have lost faith in them, and the latest news made it even worse. Who can give me the assurance that everything is okay?" Ms Fan asked.  

While undecided on her next move, Ms Fan said she would demand a report from an independent party on the status of the tank that stores her boys’ cord blood to show that it is still functioning well before resuming payments. 

Mr Melvin Chua, a father of two, said the latest update had shaken his confidence in the safety of the entire facility.

The 34-year-old software engineer said he had joined a Telegram chat group for parents affected by the Cordlife blunder. He has not taken legal action but would consider it if his son’s cord blood were compromised.

He said he hoped that Cordlife could “do a full test of all the samples” and inform parents if theirs was affected. 

"If they can refund, it would be best. But if they cannot, but they tell us that ours is affected, at least we don’t pay for nothing - we can cancel for future payments," said Mr Chua, who pays an annual fee for the storage. 

Ms Shanta, the parent who led initial legal efforts, intends to keep pressing for full accountability and fair redress. 

"We cannot undo the loss," she said. "But we can demand that those responsible take responsibility and that stronger safeguards are put in place."