You must recover, process, store, label, package, and distribute HCT/Ps, and screen and test cell and tissue donors, in a way that prevents the introduction, transmission, or spread of communicable diseases.

(a) General. This subpart D and subpart C of this part set forth current good tissue practice (CGTP) requirements. You must follow CGTP requirements to prevent the introduction, transmission, or spread of communicable diseases by HCT/Ps (e.g., by ensuring that the HCT/Ps do not contain communicable disease agents, that they are not contaminated, and that they do not become contaminated during manufacturing). Communicable diseases include, but are not limited to, those transmitted by viruses, bacteria, fungi, parasites, and transmissible spongiform encephalopathy agents. CGTP requirements govern the methods used in, and the facilities and controls used for, the manufacture of HCT/Ps, including but not limited to all steps in recovery, donor screening, donor testing, processing, storage, labeling, packaging, and distribution. The CGTP provisions specifically governing determinations of donor eligibility, including donor screening and testing, are set out separately in subpart C of this part.

(b) Core CGTP requirements. The following are core CGTP requirements:

(1) Requirements relating to facilities in § 1271.190(a) and (b);

(2) Requirements relating to environmental control in § 1271.195(a);

(3) Requirements relating to equipment in § 1271.200(a);

(4) Requirements relating to supplies and reagents in § 1271.210(a) and (b);

(5) Requirements relating to recovery in § 1271.215;

(6) Requirements relating to processing and process controls in § 1271.220;

(7) Requirements relating to labeling controls in § 1271.250(a) and (b);

(8) Requirements relating to storage in § 1271.260 (a) through (d);

(9) Requirements relating to receipt, predistribution shipment, and distribution of an HCT/P in § 1271.265(a) through (d); and

(10) Requirements relating to donor eligibility determinations, donor screening, and donor testing in §§ 1271.50, 1271.75, 1271.80, and 1271.85.

(c) Compliance with applicable requirements - (1) Manufacturing arrangements (i) If you are an establishment that engages in only some operations subject to the regulations in this subpart and subpart C of this part, and not others, then you need only comply with those requirements applicable to the operations that you perform.

(ii) If you engage another establishment (e.g., a laboratory to perform communicable disease testing, or an irradiation facility to perform terminal sterilization), under a contract, agreement, or other arrangement, to perform any step in manufacture for you, that establishment is responsible for complying with requirements applicable to that manufacturing step.

(iii) Before entering into a contract, agreement, or other arrangement with another establishment to perform any step in manufacture for you, you must ensure that the establishment complies with applicable CGTP requirements. If, during the course of this contract, agreement, or other arrangement, you become aware of information suggesting that the establishment may no longer be in compliance with such requirements, you must take reasonable steps to ensure the establishment complies with those requirements. If you determine that the establishment is not in compliance with those requirements, you must terminate your contract, agreement, or other arrangement with the establishment.

(2) If you are the establishment that determines that an HCT/P meets all release criteria and makes the HCT/P available for distribution, whether or not you are the actual distributor, you are responsible for reviewing manufacturing and tracking records to determine that the HCT/P has been manufactured and tracked in compliance with the requirements of this subpart and subpart C of this part and any other applicable requirements.

(3) With the exception of §§ 1271.150(c) and 1271.155 of this subpart, the regulations in this subpart are not being implemented for reproductive HCT/Ps described in § 1271.10 and regulated solely under section 361 of the Public Health Service Act and the regulations in this part, or for the establishments that manufacture them.

(d) Compliance with parts 210, 211, and 820 of this chapter. With respect to HCT/Ps that are drugs (subject to review under an application submitted under section 505 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act or under a biological product license application under section 351 of the Public Health Service Act) or that are devices (subject to premarket review or notification under the device provisions of the act or under a biological product license application under section 351 of the Public Health Service Act), the procedures contained in this subpart and in subpart C of this part and the current good manufacturing practice regulations in parts 210 and 211 of this chapter and the quality system regulations in part 820 of this chapter supplement, and do not supersede, each other unless the regulations explicitly provide otherwise. In the event that a regulation in part 1271 of this chapter is in conflict with a requirement in parts 210, 211, or 820 of this chapter, the regulations more specifically applicable to the product in question will supersede the more general.

(e) Where appropriate. When a requirement is qualified by “where appropriate,” it is deemed to be “appropriate” unless you can document justification otherwise. A requirement is “appropriate” if nonimplementation of the requirement could reasonably be expected to result in the HCT/P not meeting its specified requirements related to prevention of introduction, transmission, or spread of communicable diseases, or in your inability to carry out any necessary corrective action.

(a) General. You may request an exemption from or alternative to any requirement in subpart C or D of this part.

(b) Request for exemption or alternative. Submit your request under this section to the Director of the appropriate Center (the Director), e.g., the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research or the Center for Devices and Radiological Health. The request must be accompanied by supporting documentation, including all relevant valid scientific data, and must contain either:

(1) Information justifying the requested exemption from the requirement, or

(2) A description of a proposed alternative method of meeting the requirement.

(c) Criteria for granting an exemption or alternative. The Director may grant an exemption or alternative if he or she finds that such action is consistent with the goals of protecting the public health and/or preventing the introduction, transmission, or spread of communicable diseases and that:

(1) The information submitted justifies an exemption; or

(2) The proposed alternative satisfies the purpose of the requirement.

(d) Form of request. You must ordinarily make your request for an exemption or alternative in writing (hard copy or electronically). However, if circumstances make it difficult (e.g., there is inadequate time) to submit your request in writing, you may make the request orally, and the Director may orally grant an exemption or alternative. You must follow your oral request with an immediate written request, to which the Director will respond in writing.

(e) Operation under exemption or alternative. You must not begin operating under the terms of a requested exemption or alternative until the exemption or alternative has been granted. You may apply for an extension of an exemption or alternative beyond its expiration date, if any.

(f) Documentation. If you operate under the terms of an exemption or alternative, you must maintain documentation of:

(1) FDA's grant of the exemption or alternative, and

(2) The date on which you began operating under the terms of the exemption or alternative.

(g) Issuance of an exemption or alternative by the Director. In a public health emergency, the Director may issue an exemption from, or alternative to, any requirement in part 1271. The Director may issue an exemption or alternative under this section if the exemption or alternative is necessary to assure that certain HCT/Ps will be available in a specified location to respond to an unanticipated immediate need for those HCT/Ps.

(a) General. If you are an establishment that performs any step in the manufacture of HCT/Ps, you must establish and maintain a quality program intended to prevent the introduction, transmission, or spread of communicable diseases through the manufacture and use of HCT/Ps. The quality program must be appropriate for the specific HCT/Ps manufactured and the manufacturing steps performed. The quality program must address all core CGTP requirements listed in § 1271.150(b).

(b) Functions. Functions of the quality program must include:

(1) Establishing and maintaining appropriate procedures relating to core CGTP requirements, and ensuring compliance with the requirements of § 1271.180 with respect to such procedures, including review, approval, and revision;

(2) Ensuring that procedures exist for receiving, investigating, evaluating, and documenting information relating to core CGTP requirements, including complaints, and for sharing any information pertaining to the possible contamination of the HCT/P or the potential for transmission of a communicable disease by the HCT/P with the following:

(i) Other establishments that are known to have recovered HCT/Ps from the same donor;

(ii) Other establishments that are known to have performed manufacturing steps with respect to the same HCT/P; and

(iii) Relating to consignees, in the case of such information received after the HCT/P is made available for distribution, shipped to the consignee, or administered to the recipient, procedures must include provisions for assessing risk and appropriate followup, and evaluating the effect this information has on the HCT/P and for the notification of all entities to whom the affected HCT/P was distributed, the quarantine and recall of the HCT/P, and/or reporting to FDA, as necessary.

(3) Ensuring that appropriate corrective actions relating to core CGTP requirements, including reaudits of deficiencies, are taken and documented, as necessary. You must verify corrective actions to ensure that such actions are effective and are in compliance with CGTP. Where appropriate, corrective actions must include both short-term action to address the immediate problem and long-term action to prevent the problem's recurrence. Documentation of corrective actions must include, where appropriate:

(i) Identification of the HCT/P affected and a description of its disposition;

(ii) The nature of the problem requiring corrective action;

(iii) A description of the corrective action taken; and

(iv) The date(s) of the corrective action.

(4) Ensuring the proper training and education of personnel involved in activities related to core CGTP requirements;

(5) Establishing and maintaining appropriate monitoring systems as necessary to comply with the requirements of this subpart (e.g., environmental monitoring);

(6) Investigating and documenting HCT/P deviations and trends of HCT/P deviations relating to core CGTP requirements and making reports if required under § 1271.350(b) or other applicable regulations. Each investigation must include a review and evaluation of the HCT/P deviation, the efforts made to determine the cause, and the implementation of corrective action(s) to address the HCT/P deviation and prevent recurrence.

(c) Audits. You must periodically perform for management review a quality audit, as defined in § 1271.3(gg), of activities related to core CGTP requirements.

(d) Computers. You must validate the performance of computer software for the intended use, and the performance of any changes to that software for the intended use, if you rely upon the software to comply with core CGTP requirements and if the software either is custom software or is commercially available software that has been customized or programmed (including software programmed to perform a user defined calculation or table) to perform a function related to core CGTP requirements. You must verify the performance of all other software for the intended use if you rely upon it to comply with core CGTP requirements. You must approve and document these activities and results before implementation.

(a) General. You must have personnel sufficient to ensure compliance with the requirements of this part.

(b) Competent performance of functions. You must have personnel with the necessary education, experience, and training to ensure competent performance of their assigned functions. Personnel must perform only those activities for which they are qualified and authorized.

(c) Training. You must train all personnel, and retrain as necessary, to perform their assigned responsibilities adequately.

(a) General. You must establish and maintain procedures appropriate to meet core CGTP requirements for all steps that you perform in the manufacture of HCT/Ps. You must design these procedures to prevent circumstances that increase the risk of the introduction, transmission, or spread of communicable diseases through the use of HCT/Ps.

(b) Review and approval. Before implementation, a responsible person must review and approve these procedures.

(c) Availability. These procedures must be readily available to the personnel in the area where the operations to which they relate are performed, or in a nearby area if such availability is impractical.

(d) Standard procedures. If you adopt current standard procedures from another organization, you must verify that the procedures meet the requirements of this part and are appropriate for your operations.

(a) General. Any facility used in the manufacture of HCT/Ps must be of suitable size, construction, and location to prevent contamination of HCT/Ps with communicable disease agents and to ensure orderly handling of HCT/Ps without mix-ups. You must maintain the facility in a good state of repair. You must provide lighting, ventilation, plumbing, drainage, and access to sinks and toilets that are adequate to prevent the introduction, transmission, or spread of communicable disease.

(b) Facility cleaning and sanitation. (1) You must maintain any facility used in the manufacture of HCT/Ps in a clean, sanitary, and orderly manner, to prevent the introduction, transmission, or spread of communicable disease.

(2) You must dispose of sewage, trash, and other refuse in a timely, safe, and sanitary manner.

(c) Operations. You must divide a facility used in the manufacture of HCT/Ps into separate or defined areas of adequate size for each operation that takes place in the facility, or you must establish and maintain other control systems to prevent improper labeling, mix-ups, contamination, cross-contamination, and accidental exposure of HCT/Ps to communicable disease agents.

(d) Procedures and records. (1) You must establish and maintain procedures for facility cleaning and sanitation for the purpose of preventing the introduction, transmission, or spread of communicable disease. These procedures must assign responsibility for sanitation and must describe in sufficient detail the cleaning methods to be used and the schedule for cleaning the facility.

(2) You must document, and maintain records of, all cleaning and sanitation activities performed to prevent contamination of HCT/Ps. You must retain such records 3 years after their creation.

(a) Environmental control. Where environmental conditions could reasonably be expected to cause contamination or cross-contamination of HCT/Ps or equipment, or accidental exposure of HCT/Ps to communicable disease agents, you must adequately control environmental conditions and provide proper conditions for operations. Where appropriate, you must provide for the following control activities or systems:

(1) Temperature and humidity controls;

(2) Ventilation and air filtration;

(3) Cleaning and disinfecting of rooms and equipment to ensure aseptic processing operations; and

(4) Maintenance of equipment used to control conditions necessary for aseptic processing operations.

(b) Inspections. You must inspect each environmental control system periodically to verify that the system, including necessary equipment, is adequate and functioning properly. You must take appropriate corrective action as necessary.

(c) Environmental monitoring. You must monitor environmental conditions where environmental conditions could reasonably be expected to cause contamination or cross-contamination of HCT/Ps or equipment, or accidental exposure of HCT/Ps to communicable disease agents. Where appropriate, you must provide environmental monitoring for microorganisms.

(d) Records. You must document, and maintain records of, environmental control and monitoring activities.

(a) General. To prevent the introduction, transmission, or spread of communicable diseases, equipment used in the manufacture of HCT/Ps must be of appropriate design for its use and must be suitably located and installed to facilitate operations, including cleaning and maintenance. Any automated, mechanical, electronic, or other equipment used for inspection, measuring, or testing in accordance with this part must be capable of producing valid results. You must clean, sanitize, and maintain equipment according to established schedules.

(b) Procedures and schedules. You must establish and maintain procedures for cleaning, sanitizing, and maintaining equipment to prevent malfunctions, contamination or cross-contamination, accidental exposure of HCT/Ps to communicable disease agents, and other events that could reasonably be expected to result in the introduction, transmission, or spread of communicable diseases.

(c) Calibration of equipment. Where appropriate, you must routinely calibrate according to established procedures and schedules all automated, mechanical, electronic, or other equipment used for inspection, measuring, and testing in accordance with this part.

(d) Inspections. You must routinely inspect equipment for cleanliness, sanitation, and calibration, and to ensure adherence to applicable equipment maintenance schedules.

(e) Records. You must document and maintain records of all equipment maintenance, cleaning, sanitizing, calibration, and other activities performed in accordance with this section. You must display records of recent maintenance, cleaning, sanitizing, calibration, and other activities on or near each piece of equipment, or make the records readily available to the individuals responsible for performing these activities and to the personnel using the equipment. You must maintain records of the use of each piece of equipment, including the identification of each HCT/P manufactured with that equipment.

(a) Verification. You must not use supplies and reagents until they have been verified to meet specifications designed to prevent circumstances that increase the risk of the introduction, transmission, or spread of communicable diseases. Verification may be accomplished by the establishment that uses the supply or reagent, or by the vendor of the supply or reagent.

(b) Reagents. Reagents used in processing and preservation of HCT/Ps must be sterile, where appropriate.

(c) In-house reagents. You must validate and/or verify the processes used for production of in-house reagents.

(d) Records. You must maintain the following records pertaining to supplies and reagents:

(1) Records of the receipt of each supply or reagent, including the type, quantity, manufacturer, lot number, date of receipt, and expiration date;

(2) Records of the verification of each supply or reagent, including test results or, in the case of vendor verification, a certificate of analysis from the vendor; and

(3) Records of the lot of supply or reagent used in the manufacture of each HCT/P.

If you are an establishment that recovers HCT/Ps, you must recover each HCT/P in a way that does not cause contamination or cross-contamination during recovery, or otherwise increase the risk of the introduction, transmission, or spread of communicable disease through the use of the HCT/P.

(a) General. If you are an establishment that processes HCT/Ps, you must process each HCT/P in a way that does not cause contamination or cross-contamination during processing, and that prevents the introduction, transmission, or spread of communicable disease through the use of the HCT/P.

(b) Pooling. Human cells or tissue from two or more donors must not be pooled (placed in physical contact or mixed in a single receptacle) during manufacturing.

(c) In-process control and testing. You must ensure that specified requirements, consistent with paragraph (a) of this section, for in-process controls are met, and that each in-process HCT/P is controlled until the required inspection and tests or other verification activities have been completed, or necessary approvals are received and documented. Sampling of in-process HCT/Ps must be representative of the material to be evaluated.

(d) Dura mater. (1) When there is a published validated process that reduces the risk of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, you must use this process for dura mater (or an equivalent process that you have validated), unless following this process adversely affects the clinical utility of the dura mater.

(2) When you use a published validated process, you must verify such a process in your establishment.

Any change to a process must be verified or validated in accordance with § 1271.230, to ensure that the change does not create an adverse impact elsewhere in the operation, and must be approved before implementation by a responsible person with appropriate knowledge and background. You must communicate approved changes to the appropriate personnel in a timely manner.

(a) General. Where the results of processing described in § 1271.220 cannot be fully verified by subsequent inspection and tests, you must validate and approve the process according to established procedures. The validation activities and results must be documented, including the date and signature of the individual(s) approving the validation.

(b) Written representation. Any written representation that your processing methods reduce the risk of transmission of communicable disease by an HCT/P, including but not limited to, a representation of sterility or pathogen inactivation of an HCT/P, must be based on a fully verified or validated process.

(c) Changes. When changes to a validated process subject to paragraph (a) of this section occur, you must review and evaluate the process and perform revalidation where appropriate. You must document these activities.

(a) General. You must establish and maintain procedures to control the labeling of HCT/Ps. You must design these procedures to ensure proper HCT/P identification and to prevent mix-ups.

(b) Verification. Procedures must include verification of label accuracy, legibility, and integrity.

(c) Labeling requirements. Procedures must ensure that each HCT/P is labeled in accordance with all applicable labeling requirements, including those in §§ 1271.55, 1271.60, 1271.65, 1271.90, 1271.290, and 1271.370, and that each HCT/P made available for distribution is accompanied by documentation of the donor eligibility determination as required under § 1271.55.

(a) Control of storage areas. You must control your storage areas and stock rooms to prevent:

(1) Mix-ups, contamination, and cross-contamination of HCT/Ps, supplies, and reagents, and

(2) An HCT/P from being improperly made available for distribution.

(b) Temperature. You must store HCT/Ps at an appropriate temperature.

(c) Expiration date. Where appropriate, you must assign an expiration date to each HCT/P based on the following factors:

(1) HCT/P type;

(2) Processing, including the method of preservation;

(3) Storage conditions; and

(4) Packaging.

(d) Corrective action. You must take and document corrective action whenever proper storage conditions are not met.

(e) Acceptable temperature limits. You must establish acceptable temperature limits for storage of HCT/Ps at each step of the manufacturing process to inhibit the growth of infectious agents. You must maintain and record storage temperatures for HCT/Ps. You must periodically review recorded temperatures to ensure that temperatures have been within acceptable limits.

(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.

(a) General. You must maintain records concurrently with the performance of each step required in this subpart and subpart C of this part. Any requirement in this part that an action be documented involves the creation of a record, which is subject to the requirements of this section. All records must be accurate, indelible, and legible. The records must identify the person performing the work and the dates of the various entries, and must be as detailed as necessary to provide a complete history of the work performed and to relate the records to the particular HCT/P involved.

(b) Records management system. You must establish and maintain a records management system relating to core CGTP requirements. Under this system, records pertaining to a particular HCT/P must be maintained in such a way as to facilitate review of the HCT/Ps history before making it available for distribution and, if necessary, subsequent to the HCT/Ps release as part of a followup evaluation or investigation. Records pertinent to the manufacture of HCT/Ps (e.g., labeling and packaging procedures, and equipment logs) must also be maintained and organized under the records management system. If records are maintained in more than one location, then the records management system must be designed to ensure prompt identification, location, and retrieval of all records.

(c) Methods of retention. You may maintain records required under this subpart electronically, as original paper records, or as true copies such as photocopies, microfiche, or microfilm. Equipment that is necessary to make the records available and legible, such as computer and reader equipment, must be readily available. Records stored in electronic systems must be backed up.

(d) Length of retention. You must retain all records for 10 years after their creation, unless stated otherwise in this part. However, you must retain the records pertaining to a particular HCT/P at least 10 years after the date of its administration, or if the date of administration is not known, then at least 10 years after the date of the HCT/Ps distribution, disposition, or expiration, whichever is latest. You must retain records for archived specimens of dura mater for 10 years after the appropriate disposition of the specimens.

(e) Contracts and agreements. You must maintain the name and address and a list of the responsibilities of any establishment that performs a manufacturing step for you. This information must be available during an inspection conducted under § 1271.400.

(a) General. If you perform any step in the manufacture of an HCT/P in which you handle the HCT/P, you must track each such HCT/P in accordance with this section, to facilitate the investigation of actual or suspected transmission of communicable disease and take appropriate and timely corrective action.

(b) System of HCT/P tracking. (1) You must establish and maintain a system of HCT/P tracking that enables the tracking of all HCT/Ps from:

(i) The donor to the consignee or final disposition; and

(ii) The consignee or final disposition to the donor.

(2) Alternatively, if you are an establishment that performs some but not all of the steps in the manufacture of an HCT/P in which you handle the HCT/P, you may participate in a system of HCT/P tracking established and maintained by another establishment responsible for other steps in the manufacture of the same HCT/P, provided that the tracking system complies with all the requirements of this section.

(c) Distinct identification code. As part of your tracking system, you must ensure: That each HCT/P that you manufacture is assigned and labeled with a distinct identification code, e.g., alphanumeric, that relates the HCT/P to the donor and to all records pertaining to the HCT/P; and that labeling includes information designed to facilitate effective tracking, using the distinct identification code, from the donor to the recipient and from the recipient to the donor. Except as described in § 1271.55(a)(1), you must create such a code specifically for tracking, and it may not include an individual's name, social security number, or medical record number. You may adopt a distinct identification code assigned by another establishment engaged in the manufacturing process, or you may assign a new code. If you assign a new code to an HCT/P, you must establish and maintain procedures for relating the new code to the old code.

(d) Tracking from consignee to donor. As part of your tracking system, you must establish and maintain a method for recording the distinct identification code and type of each HCT/P distributed to a consignee to enable tracking from the consignee to the donor.

(e) Tracking from donor to consignee or final disposition. As part of your tracking system, you must establish and maintain a method for documenting the disposition of each of your HCT/Ps, to enable tracking from the donor to the consignee or final disposition. The information you maintain must permit the prompt identification of the consignee of the HCT/P, if any.

(f) Consignees. At or before the time of distribution of an HCT/P to a consignee, you must inform the consignee in writing of the requirements in this section and of the tracking system that you have established and are maintaining to comply with these requirements.

(g) Requirements specific to dura mater donors. You must archive appropriate specimens from each donor of dura mater, under appropriate storage conditions, and for the appropriate duration, to enable testing of the archived material for evidence of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, and to enable appropriate disposition of any affected nonadministered dura mater tissue, if necessary.

(a) Procedures. You must establish and maintain procedures for the review, evaluation, and documentation of complaints as defined in § 1271.3(aa), relating to core current good tissue practice (CGTP) requirements, and the investigation of complaints as appropriate.

(b) Complaint file. You must maintain a record of complaints that you receive in a file designated for complaints. The complaint file must contain sufficient information about each complaint for proper review and evaluation of the complaint (including the distinct identification code of the HCT/P that is the subject of the complaint) and for determining whether the complaint is an isolated event or represents a trend. You must make the complaint file available for review and copying upon request from FDA.

(c) Review and evaluation of complaints. You must review and evaluate each complaint relating to core CGTP requirements to determine if the complaint is related to an HCT/P deviation or to an adverse reaction, and to determine if a report under § 1271.350 or another applicable regulation is required. As soon as practical, you must review, evaluate, and investigate each complaint that represents an event required to be reported to FDA, as described in § 1271.350. You must review and evaluate a complaint relating to core CGTP requirements that does not represent an event required to be reported to determine whether an investigation is necessary; an investigation may include referring a copy of the complaint to another establishment that performed manufacturing steps pertinent to the complaint. When no investigation is made, you must maintain a record that includes the reason no investigation was made, and the name of the individual(s) responsible for the decision not to investigate.