The Canadian Ministry of Health says there are concerns about the cord blood stored in the Canadian Cord Blood Bank in Edmonton which "may pose serious health risks."

The regulatory authority said on Wednesday that these issues could lead to potential contamination, transmission of infectious diseases, and may harm the products.

"These concerns include processing, testing, and storing cord blood in an environment that was unclean or cleaned with expired disinfectants, and the lack of adequate measures to monitor temperature, humidity, and contamination in the areas where cord blood is processed, tested, and stored."

Furthermore, the Canadian Ministry of Health said that online advertisements indicate that cord blood can be used by people other than the person from whom the blood came. The concerned facility is only allowed to store cord blood for use by the same person.

The blood collected from the placenta and umbilical cord of newborns is rich in certain stem cells that can be used to treat some health conditions, such as leukemia.

The inspection also identified problems including:

Lack of qualified personnel.
Use of uncalibrated equipment.
Failure to follow established procedures.
Improper record keeping.
The company was requested to submit a corrective action plan and notify customers of safety concerns.

The Canadian Ministry of Health advises anyone wishing to use their stored cord blood to have it tested by a qualified third party to confirm infectious disease factors and cell viability at least.