Locked vaults, daily temperature checks: An inside look at a cord blood bank and its safety measures

An employee at StemCord, one of Singapore’s three private cord blood banks, pumping cord blood into bags. SINGAPORE: In a commercial building at Pasir Panjang Road lies tens of thousands of units of what some call liquid gold, secured under lock and key only authorised staff have access to.

“All cord blood units are separately handled and systematically processed one at a time, to eliminate the chances of a mix-up,” said Ms Wong. StemCord staff operating a Sepax machine which is used to separate cord blood into plasma, red blood cells and white blood cells. StemCord has computer monitoring systems allowing only authorised staff to enter a storage vault. Tanks are also locked with a code.

A lab monitoring system also watches equipment round the clock, issuing alerts if any parameter falls outside predefined acceptable limits. Freebies, goody bags and pressure tactics: Parents speak up about cord blood banks' marketing methodsThese involve ensuring staff are well-trained and qualified, that equipment is maintained and that procedures and policies are being followed, said MOH in response to CNA’s queries.

During inspections and audits, MOH may ask to see documents to confirm that such assessments have been conducted.

Source: Financial Digest (financialdigest.net)

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