Receipt, predistribution shipment, and distribution of an HCT/P.
21 C.F.R. § 1271.265
in effectEffective: 2024-07-01(a) Receipt. You must evaluate each incoming HCT/P for the presence and significance of microorganisms and inspect for damage and contamination. You must determine whether to accept, reject, or place in quarantine each incoming HCT/P, based upon pre-established criteria designed to prevent communicable disease transmission.
(b) Predistribution shipment. If you ship an HCT/P within your establishment or between establishments (e.g., procurer to processor) and the HCT/P is not available for distribution as described in paragraph (c) of this section, you must first determine and document whether pre-established criteria designed to prevent communicable disease transmission have been met, and you must ship the HCT/P in quarantine.
(c) Availability for distribution. (1) Before making an HCT/P available for distribution, you must review manufacturing and tracking records pertaining to the HCT/P, and, on the basis of that record review, you must verify and document that the release criteria have been met. A responsible person must document and date the determination that an HCT/P is available for distribution.
(2) You must not make available for distribution an HCT/P that is in quarantine, is contaminated, is recovered from a donor who has been determined to be ineligible or for whom a donor-eligibility determination has not been completed (except as provided under §§ 1271.60, 1271.65, and 1271.90), or that otherwise does not meet release criteria designed to prevent communicable disease transmission.
(3) You must not make available for distribution any HCT/P manufactured under a departure from a procedure relevant to preventing risks of communicable disease transmission, unless a responsible person has determined that the departure does not increase the risk of communicable disease through the use of the HCT/P. You must record and justify any departure from a procedure at the time of its occurrence.
(d) Packaging and shipping. Packaging and shipping containers must be designed and constructed to protect the HCT/P from contamination. For each type of HCT/P, you must establish appropriate shipping conditions to be maintained during transit.
(e) Procedures. You must establish and maintain procedures, including release criteria, for the activities in paragraphs (a) through (d) of this section. You must document these activities. Documentation must include:
(1) Identification of the HCT/P and the establishment that supplied the HCT/P;
(2) Activities performed and the results of each activity;
(3) Date(s) of activity;
(4) Quantity of HCT/P subject to the activity; and
(5) Disposition of the HCT/P (e.g., identity of consignee).
(f) Return to inventory. You must establish and maintain procedures to determine if an HCT/P that is returned to your establishment is suitable to be returned to inventory.
Source: eCFRURL: https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2024-07-01/title-21.xmlFetched: 7/26/2026