Janil Puthucheary on Cordlife and cord blood banking services

In Parliament on Wednesday (May 8), Senior Minister of State for Health Janil Puthucheary said that the Government understands the anxiety and concern among parents as a result of the lapses at cord blood bank Cordlife. He said in his reply to MPs' questions that cord blood banking is an elective, commercial service provided by the private sector and the Ministry of Health (MOH) is not a party to these contracts. Dr Janil also said that the Government "cannot overstep the law", and there are limits to which it can intervene, especially when it comes to issues of compensation and refunds. "What MOH is actively doing is with respect to regulation and facilitation," he said. This includes supervising the proper completion of further tests in the affected tanks to achieve a high level of confidence in the findings, a process which he said will take another year. He added that the ministry will also closely monitor Cordlife's dissemination of information to its customers and the public as well as the progress in addressing the deficiencies identified and in making improvements. He also said that MOH has discussed with other service providers that are prepared to facilitate the transfer of cord blood units. Dr Janil urged parents, however, 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".