21 CFR §1271.265
Verified against eCFR.gov as of June 20, 2026View official text on eCFR.gov ↗
- (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:
- (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.