Communications and Publications Division (CPD) of the IFCC
Editor: Tahir Pillay, MB ChB, PhD, FRCPath (Lon), FCPath (SA)
Department of Chemical Pathology, University of Pretoria, South Africa
E-mail: enews@ifcc.org

International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine

September - October2017

In t h is issue

 Countdown to IFCC Worldlab Durban 20173

 IFCC-Task Force for Young Scientists (TF-YS) at EuroMedLab 20175

 IFCC welcomes a new member: Panama!

7

 Genomic testing: the dilemma of disclosure8 NEWS FROM REGIONAL FEDERATIONS AND MEMBER SOCIETIESNewsfrom the Spanish Society of Laboratory Medicine (SEQCML)

10

Greetingsfrom the Finnish Society of Clinical Chemistry (FSCC)

13

News

from the Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists (CSCC)

14

Minutesof the 9th EFLM General Meeting16

Updateson EFLM publications

18

EFLM

Webinars20

 IFCC PROFESSIONAL SCIENTIFIC EXCHANGE PROGRAMME (PSEP)
My experience in Zimbabwe
 IFCC's Calendar of Congresses, Conferences & Events

21
23

Countdown to IFCC Worldlab Durban 2017
by Tahir Pillay
IFCC eNews Editor
Congress Co-president, WorldLab 2017
There are only a few more weeks left before IFCCWorldlab Durban 2017 takes place at the Durban International Convention Centre in South Africa.
The theme of the conference is “Multi-omics, laboratory medicine and personalized medicine”. WorldLab
2017 promises to be one of the best with a uniqueblend of innovative science, evidence- based laboratory medicine and an emphasis on personalized medicine. This reflects the changing directions of scienceand medicine with greater attention being paid toprevention and risk stratification.
Africa is traditionally associated with its magnificent
wildlife and unique cultural diversity. South Africa
provides an opportunity to discover both of them.
Durban, a melting pot for African and Indian cultures, isa coastal city with a tropical climate and pristine beaches and surfing. Durban is the site for various clinical trials and some of the major breakthroughs in the management of patients with HIV have been made here.
As a case in point, the opening plenary speaker is Professor Salim Abdool Karim (Columbia University andUniversity of KwaZulu-Natal), one of the pioneers in the
HIV prevention field. The closing plenary speaker willbe Professor William Bishai (Johns Hopkins University
and former and founding director of the HHMI KwaZulu-Natal Research Institute for HIV and TB) who is internationally known for his research on the mechanismsof tuberculosis. Thus the congress programme reflects
two major challenges in laboratory medicine facing theAfrican continent and the developing worlds.
Other plenary speakers include Professor Raj Thakker(Oxford University) who is renowned for his work on
disorders of calcium regulation and Professor Serge
Muyldermans (Belgium) who is a pioneer in the fieldof single chain antibodies.
This is the first time that this Congress will take placeon the African continent and the Congress presidents

are grateful for the support of the IFCC Executive
Board, the delegates and the sponsors from industry,
as well as the exhibitors in spite of the economic challenges faced internationally and the challenges posedby having two major IFCC congresses in the same year,
a problem faced every six years owing to the biennial
cycle of Euromedlab and the triennial cycle of IFCCWorldlab overlapping every six years. The last time
this happened, the problem was solved by combining
Euromedlab and Worldlab in Berlin in 2011.
The next IFCC Worldlab will take place in South Korea
in 2020 and, at the closing ceremony, there will be an
official handover to the national society of Korea.
The congress has an exciting and innovative programme on offer. Further details are available on thewebsite including the final programme (http://www.
durban2017.org/).
Worldlab 2017 is also preceded and associated with anumber of satellite meetings:
ÂÂ POCT meeting, 21 October 2017 (Durban ICC);ÂÂ International Congress of Paediatric Laboratory Medicine, 20-22 October 2017 (Blue Waters
Hotel, Durban – near the Durban ICC);ÂÂ Biomarkers for Diabetes, 26-27 October 2017
(Grand Roche Hotel, Paarl, near Cape Town);
ÂÂ Intelligent Clinical Laboratory Management:
Impacts on Quality System Improvement,
22 October 2017 (Hilton Hotel, Durban).
Article continued on next page3

Registration for the POCT meeting is free for all delegates registered for Worldlab2017. There will be poster
prizes on offer and, for the first time, the poster PDFs
will be made available on the Congress app. Congressdelegates will now be able to browse the posters at leisure on their devices. The congress app is now live andcan be downloaded.
The Worldlab abstracts will appear in Clinical Chemistry
and Laboratory Medicine. The Congress presidents andthe organizing committee look forward to welcoming you
to this groundbreaking meeting.

News from the IFCC Website
Register now and save your money!
Online registrations for IFCC WorldLab and Satellite Meetings willclose on October 9! Last days to save your money. After Oct 9th,
only ON-SITE Registrations will be available... by spending up to100€ more. Why spend 100€ extra, if you can avoid it? Don't missthis exciting congress, themed Multi-omics, laboratory medicine
and personalized medicine. 				Read moreNews from the IFCC Website
Download the IFCC App on your mobile
The IFCC app is available on both iOS and Android platforms. The IFCC App
provides direct access to the IFCC website, the latest IFCC news and upcoming events, access to e-learning modules, and the latest eJIFCC andeNews publications. Everything is available in one place and accessible
with a single click on your mobile phone or tablet.
Download the app free from iTunes or Google Play today!
									Read moreNews from the IFCC Website
New series of JCTLM webinars
The JCTLM team has been busy over the summer period. Under
the leadership of Prof Elvar Theodorsson, SE, a series of short webinars has been produced. Each webinar addresses a specific aspectof traceability in laboratory medicine and method standardization.
These webinars are freely available through the IFCC eAcademy.
								Read more

4

IFCC-Task Force for Young Scientists (TF-YS)
EuroMedLab 2017 - Athens, Greeceby Miljan Savković
IFCC-TFYS Member
Pradeep Kumar Dabla
Chair, IFCC-TFYS
The Congress was co-organized along with the 25th
Balkan Clinical Laboratory Federation (BCLF) meetingand the 15th National Congress of GSCC-CB, offering
a fruitful exchange of opinions and visions among
the Greek, European and International colleagues.
As Congress President, Dr. Alexander Haliassos announced, the scientific programme contended anamalgamation of presentations, symposia, discussions, open sessions and workshops, describing recent state of the art innovations in 21st century Laboratory Medicine.
In a spirit of tradition and good practice IFCC-Task
Force for Young Scientists, educational workshop
took place on the morning of 11 June 2017.
IFCC-TFYS FUNCTIONAL MEET OPEN SESSION
Theme: “Young Scientists Workforce - Exchange ofExperience”
Dr. Pradeep Kumar Dabla, TFYS Chair, in the opening session described functionality of TF-YS, obstacles that YS are facing and provided a report on past
events and future programmes. Special emphasis
was placed on the importance to have YS connected on a global basis and expanding YS network andknowledge in diverse areas of Clinical Chemistry. In
addition, the overview and future steps and activities
around new projects such as Mentorship Program
project were presented on behalf of Dr. Danni Li, TFYSCore member.
As we are part of a dynamic world with ongoingchanges, we are challenged every day to push our limits and extend our visions. TFYS identified knowledge
and experience transfers on a global scale as an areawith a wide range of opportunities for future development. “Exchange of Experience” workshop session

Left to Right:
Dr. Alexander Haliassos - EFLM Congress President,
Dr. Pradeep K. Dabla - TF-YS Chair,and Dr. Praveen Sharma - Chief Editor, APFCB News

opened some very interesting ideas for cross-connecting young scientists, tools for distance learningand new career opportunities. Dr. Guilaine Boursier(TFYS Core member), presented results from global
survey, showing a diversity of level and type of education among Clinical Chemists all over the world, deficitof exchange programmes followed by lack of communication among scientist. Project “LAB Surfing”, wasdemonstrated by Dr. Santiago Fares Taie (TFYS Core
member), and how it uses benefits of ICT (information and telecommunication technologies) to create
professional social networks for Laboratory Medicine
Scientists. The goal of this project is to satisfy needsof sharing and receiving new ideas and experience for
Young Scientists worldwide. Dr. Vaneesa Steenkamp,
EB-IFCC & Liaison TFYS stressed the extension of TFYS
networking globally for education, training and explained how these current programmes can be of potential strength while achieving the same.
Article continued on next page5

There are various studies showing that mentorshipin the academic health sciences has an important influence, not just on academic productivity, but also
on personal development, and career guidance. As aresult, there has been growing interest in developing mentoring programs for protégés at all levels ofcareer development. Following this trend, we were
happy to have, as a Chairman of the IFCC Mentorship Programme Prof. Donald Young (University ofPennsylvania). Prof. Young presented a new initiative of IFCC Mentoring Programme for Developing
Countries (MENT). Selected laboratory directors fromdeveloped countries would make their knowledge
and experience available to EMD aims. Associates
are nominated by IFCC Member societies and arematched with the most suitable Mentor. The oneto-one support is provided using electronic communication. With this type of leveraged use of online
communities, learners can gain a deeper sense of adiscipline as a special “culture” shaped by specificways of seeing and interpreting.
Providing a huge support to YS and putting an accenton sharing knowledge, Dr. Damien Gruson, Consultant

TFYS was speaking about a Powerful Tool for Distance
Learning. He concluded that in these days of modern
technologies and social networks, important and improved educational flow will have creative influence on
new ideas and groundbreaking solutions between YS.
Prof. Vaneesa Steenkamp, EB-IFCC & Liaison TFYS gave
an overview of challenges that YS are facing at the beginning of their carrier, in perspective of designing thestudy, researching, defining, analyzing etc. In her talkwith YS, she provided enormous support and advised
focus on work, determination, and making the most ofopportunities which will lead to success.
At last but not the least, the takeaway notes from
TFYS sessions in Athens, as our session Chair Dr. Miljan Savković, TFYS Core member summarized in thefollowing way: “Focus, Focus, Focus”; “Take the mostof your opportunities” and “Be a star in your area!",
until we meet again.
MEET THE EXPERTS& YOUNG SCIENTISTS VOLUNTEERS
Young Scientists took part in co-organization of six“Meet the Experts” Sessions. Besides improving

TF-YS-Mentor: IFCC TF-YS members with Prof. Donald Young, IFCC Mentoring Programme Chair
and Prof. Vanessa Steenkamp, TF-YS Liaison to EB
Article continued on next page

6

managing skills, YS had chance to be a part of interactive discussion with subject matter experts and lecture speakers. Creating sessions with specific areas ofinterest gives YS in opportunity to gain knowledge oflatest accomplishments in respective subjects whilelearning leadership skills. We would like to express
our gratitude to “Young Scientist Volunteers” for supporting the Congress. The passion and energy theyshared on this great journey was quite inspiring.
IFCC-TFYS & ISE JOINT SOCIAL EVENT
JUNE 13th, 2017
Finally, continuing the trend since EuromedLab Paris
2015 an Interesting young scientist social event wasco-organized with the IFCC Task Force of Young Scientists (TF-YS) and the International Society of Enzymology (ISE) on 13 Jun 2017. This excellent opportunity
for young scientists was hosted to assist with their
networking and create liaisons. A friendly and positive atmosphere was fulfilled with a charming viewof Acropolis and Parthenon. This was followed by amusical performance of the well-known Mikis Theodorakis Orchestra and dinner organised with gracious
support of ISE and Organising Committee, EuromedLab 2017.
IFCC-TFYS conveys special thanks to all those who
were involved and supported the events throughout
the Congress.

IFCC welcomes a new member: Panama!
Colegio Nacional de Laboratorístas Clínicos de Panamá(CONALAC)CONALAC Executive Board members 2017 - 2020

Article continued on next page

7

The IFCC is happy to announce that the “Colegio Nacional de Laboratorístas
Clínicos de Panamá” (CONALAC) joined the Federation as its 92th Member!
The “Colegio Nacional de Laboratorístas Clínicos de Panamá” is a Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine professional organization. Members relationships
are excellent and this allows CONALAC Panama to develop activities for the benefit of health; the Colegio Nacional de Laboratorístas Clínicos de Panamá is well recognized by the community, by other professionals of the sector and by authorities.
Its mission is to strengthen the process of unity of Clinical Laboratories in a continuous way to reach, ensure and maintain the most profound principles of integrity and union improvement inorder to contribute to the health of the community.

Genomic testing: the dilemma of disclosure
by Bernard Gouget
Councillor for Public Health FHF, Chair-Human Health Care Committee-COFRAC
Chair IFCC-Nominations Committee, General Secretary-International Francophone
Federation of Clinical Biology and Laboratory Medicine (FIFBCML)
SFBC-International Relations Committee
Genomic medicine is no longer a promise. Recent technological progress inmolecular biology and the development of new ultra-high-throughput sequencers mean that it is now possible to sequence whole human genomes
faster and more cheaply. Analysis of whole genomes is taking an ever more
important place in medical practice in the areas of prevention, diagnosis,
establishing prognosis and treatment in a framework of precision medicine.
Following the example of UK, USA, China, the France Genomic Medicine
2025 Plan was launched last year under the leadership of Prof. Yves Levy,
President of Aviesan and CEO of Inserm, to investigate current approaches
to genetic diagnosis. This is part of a ten-year vision to introduce precision
medicine into the care pathway within the national healthcare system, inline with a similar process underway in Estonia, Slovenia and Netherlands.
Genomic medicine is a stage for strong international competition, eachcountry wanting to develop its own industry and attract scientific talent tobolster up its own advantages because it is a public health issue.
Bernard Gouget

While such a business opportunity is attracting major business concerns
such as those collectively called the GAFAMS (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft and Samsung), in
order to avoid the risk of technological dependence, it is fundamental that academic and public researchers do
not miss the opportunity to develop national frameworks.
The Healthcare system cannot be separated from innovation and requires close coordination with the world of
research. Educational programmes directed toward the development of clinical and medical laboratory professionals capable of meeting the challenges of analyzing and interpreting the data are key towards fostering a proper
genomic health system. The demand is growing and there is a need to establish a generic care pathway with a clear
common access to genomic medicine for patients affected by metastatic cancer, or a cancer that has been proven
Article continued on next page8

refractory to treatment or rare disease. Beyond 2020,
the French system’s capacity will be grown also to cover common diseases.
Specific measures include the setting up of a network of sequencing services, the establishment of anational center for intensive calculation, the generalization of standardized, interoperable electronic patient medical record and new regulatory frameworks
according to Good Practices as well as judicial andethical standards. It is also fundamental to ensure information, consultation and involvement of everyonein the society the general public, users and patient’s
association concerned.
Genetic technologies enable more and more people toaccess their own personal genomic information. The
genomic information creates a kind of transparencyof the human body to ourselves and possibly to theothers. Genomics information changes the way to see
the body and to embody life. Transparency is a threat
to privacy. It is a revolution on the fields of prevention
and healthcare but is not possible to develop personalized genomic medicine without answering numerous
questions about patient consent, on anonymization ofdata, access to and exploitation of health data, when
we know that at the same time, the genome can be sequenced on demand through direct-to-consumer genetest companies and the data are directly communicated to the customers and are stored and used somehow.
This will also give rise to huge ethical questions about
what to do with the information. The fundamental
relational feature of genetic knowledge shapes thequestions of genetic responsibility and how to deal
with genetic knowledge. The higher the impact of genetic knowledge on our own well-being, the greater
is the responsibility we will have in dealing with thisknowledge. How does one manage secondary discoveries and unwanted incidents when the entire
genome of the patients and family members are sequenced? Do we have to inform a patient about a genetic risk that happens to have been detected if theincidental findings are of uncertain significance. The
right not to know is recognized at international level in the UNESCO declaration on the human genome:“The right of every individual to decide whether or not
to be informed of the results of genetic examinationand the resulting consequences should be respected”.
The right not to know is still heavily debated, some
genetic professionals appear to think that to know isbetter than not to know, arguing that the progress ingenomics make the right “not to know” obsolete because pathogenic mutations might be asymptomatic
for long period of time and “to know” is better when
information is actionable. Clinicians and laboratory
professionals also have a fiduciary duty to prevent
harm by warning patients and their families aboutcertain incidental findings and this principle supersedes concerns about patient autonomy, just as it
does in the reporting of incidental findings elsewherein medical practice.
The question is still a controversial issue in various
countries, but the evolution of knowledge in genomic
medicine, in particular in many cancers, require definitive international guidelines. As Bjorn Hoffmann(Norway) wrote, the question is: “Can I trust the results and will they make difference”. In the case ofincidental findings with uncertain significance whennothing can be done to improve my health, there isno compelling reason to be informed ”ignorance isbliss” as the saying goes. When answering questions
that are not asked, we need to think twice!

News from the IFCC Website
Join the IFCC Social Networking Community
Follow the IFCC on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to get regular
updates on IFCC news, events and activities. Start discussions,share yours news and information and be a part of the online clinical chemistry and laboratory medicine community!
								Read more

9NEWS FROM REGIONAL FEDERATIONS AND MEMBER SOCIETIESNews from the Spanish Societyof Laboratory Medicine (SEQCML)VI International Clinical Laboratory
and Quality Symposium
Barcelona, Spain – 30-31 May 2017
Leading national and international professionals
participated in the VI International Clinical Laboratory and Quality Symposium in Barcelona organized by the Spanish Society of Laboratory Medicine (SEQCML) and the Foundation for Quality
Control in Clinical Laboratories (FPCQLC) on 30-31
May 2017. The event was a reference event in thefield, both for its scientific programme and for theprestige of its speakers.
The field of clinical analysis is continually evolving,
but it is nevertheless necessary to continue moving
forward in the standardization of the entire clinicallaboratory process. It is important that laboratory results be transferable between centres and countries
so as to avoid confusion in their interpretation.
Similarly, despite continuing improvement in measurement procedures and the constant reduction ofimprecision in analytic methods, there are still systematic deviations in measurement methods among
the different manufacturers of in vitro diagnostic
methods.
Therefore, the coordination and standardization of
the entire analytic process will be key for the future in
the clinical laboratory field.
This was one of the central themes of the VI International Clinical Laboratory and Quality Symposium thatwas held in Barcelona.
Leading national and international professionals presented their experiences and gave updates on thelatest news on topics such as quality in the sample
extraction process, stability of biological tests, analytical and extra-analytical quality specifications, standardization, consensus on critical values, programs forexternal quality guarantees, and risk management.
Among the projects presented during the symposium-- all relevant for guaranteeing quality in clinical laboratories--, some that stood out were the project tocreate a database for the stability of biological tests
and the project to establish critical values via thetechnological tool Health Consensus (a platform tofacilitate consensus among health professionals by allowing them to consult online while at the same timereceiving immediate replies with the opinion of allparties consulted. Thus, through an interactive process, a consensus on protocols or concrete initiatives
can be reached).
Equally important is the project to improve the Database on Biological Variation that is being carriedout by a recently created workgroup made up of professionals from Spain (the Commission on Analytical
Quality of the SEQCML) and various representatives
from the European Federation of Clinical Chemistry
and Laboratory Medicine (EFLM) from Norway, theUnited Kingdom, Italy, Holland, Canada, Turkey, andAustralia.
“We are making great progress to assure the launchand ongoing updating of the database, which will
have a great impact on the quality of clinical analysis”,
Article continued on next page10

Speakers at the Symposium

stressed Professor Sverre Sandberg, President of the
EFLM and coordinator of the group.
For Professor Sandberg, “Spanish laboratories contribute greatly to the European Scientific Society inmany areas, such as monitoring methods, improvement of test requests, and work on biological variation, in which Spain is strongly represented”.
THE IMPORTANCE OF CONTROLPROCEDURES AND PROGRAMSFOR EXTERNAL QUALITY ASSURANCE“The end result of laboratory services depends not
only on the analytical phase, which of course is important, but also on all of the different parts of the“chain”, from the request for the correct tests to thereport of the results and their interpretation by doctors”, explains the president of the EFLM.
For her part, Dr. Ma Antonia Llopis, President of theDr. Mª Antonia Llopis, President of the Committee onExternal Quality Programs for the SEQCML,
one of the speakers at the Symposium

Committee on External Quality Programs for the SEQCML, referred to the importance of quality in the
pre- and post-analytic phases, as this is where thegreatest percentage of laboratory errors occur.
Article continued on next page

11

“Much of the pre-analytic phase takes place outsideof the laboratory, with participation from the patientsthemselves to professionals from various areas, bothin healthcare and out, which makes control more difficult. The processes of extraction, collection of samples, and identification have a great impact on patient
safety. That´s why it is so important to make laboratories aware of the importance of establishing proper
control procedures as well as programs for external
quality assurance”, she noted.
Currently there are few organizations that provide programmes for external guarantee of pre-analytic quality, and the SEQCML was a pioneer in Europe in theorganization of these programs. With close to 20 yearsof experience, in 2014 it provided a new focus on thisprogram by basing it on quality indicators.
DIAGNOSTIC CLINICAL TESTSFOR HEREDITARY DISEASESEvery year there is an increase in the number of hereditary diseases (generally monogenic) for which
the genetic cause is known. This is why the numberof requests for these studies increases daily, as does

their variety. In addition, as methodologies are becoming simpler, they can be done more rapidly. Theseadvances also have their negative aspect, as they canbring about requests for genetic studies without theuse of appropriate diagnostic criteria. Therefore, theSymposium addressed the External Quality Assurance
Programs for hereditary diseases.
“It´s not always clear when to request a genetic study.
To know if one should be done or not, available diagnostic guidelines for the suspected disease should
be consulted, as well as recent literature. The clinicalhistory, a physical exam, and family history are particularly relevant in this context. In general, the mostimportant points are the age at diagnosis, multi-focal
or bilateral affectation, and alterations that are components of a syndrome”.
“To maintain a quality standard in genetic studies,
these must be done in reference centres that participate in the External Quality Assurance Programs
that exist specifically for each disease”, concluded
the president of the SEQCML Committee on External
Quality Assurance Programs.

Audience at the Symposium

12News from Finland (FSCC)
Greetings from the Finnish Society of Clinical Chemistryby Jonna Pelantii
Board member and Secretary
Finnish Society of Clinical Chemistryclinical laboratory sciences, bioanalytics and, this year,
also about the innovations in health technologies anddigital possibilities in the field.
The themes for 2017 were:"Evidence-based laboratory medicine" and"Impact of total quality management".

The Finnish Society of Clinical Chemistry (FSCC), wasfounded in 1946, has 450 members and 15 supporting members (companies). Clinical doctors or clinicalchemists/biochemist who work in the field of clinicalchemistry are accepted as members.
FSCC is the major owner of the Finnish external quality assessment provider Labquality Ltd and is a member of the international organizations IFCC, EFLM and
IUPAC and also a member of the Nordic Society ofClinical Chemistry.
FSCC provides grants for research and education, publishes the journal Kliinlab (www.skky.fi/kliinlab-lehti)
and organizes two 1-2 day national congresses annually by itself or in collaboration with the other Finnish
clinical chemistry societies or companies.
Labquality has a history of more than 45 years of proving high quality external quality assessment for laboratories all over the world.
Labquality organizes yearly a large international congress, Labquality Days for clients and experts working in the clinical laboratories and as quality management professionals. The event is being held inwintery Helsinki in February. In 2017 almost 1000 participants came to learn more and to be inspired about

There were participants from more than 20 countries
who participated in the international part of the congress. An extensive exhibition with some 60 diagnostic
companies as well as the new ePosters kept the congress attendees busy even during the lecture breaks.
The exhibition area also had a Speaker’s Corner where
one could listen to the new and exciting things happening inside the fields like digital pathology, biomarkers and probiotics.
Next year, the congress will be held on 8-9 February
2018.
The themes for 2018 are:"Path to Perfect Quality" and"New frontiers in health and laboratory technology".
We warmly invite all of our colleagues to participate!
You are most welcome! Learn more from the website
www.labqualitydays.com.
The main future effort of the Finnish society is to organize the biannual Nordic Congress in Clinical Chemistry in Helsinki (www.nfkk2018.fi).
This congress is going to gather together colleagues
on 12-15 June 2018 - to listen and to learn about “Information beyond numbers”.
We have an interesting year ahead of us in Finland,with several intriguing congresses to come. We hope
to see many of our international colleagues visiting us!

13

News from the Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists (CSCC)
Highlights and sound-bitesfrom the 2017 CSCC Annual Meetingby Jennifer Shea
Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists
The 2017 CSCC Annual Meeting was held jointly with
the AACC in San Diego, California this summer. A stellar Canadian cast joined the annual meeting organizing committee to produce a high-quality scientificprogramme augmented by an enormous gatheringof exhibitors, poster-presenters and attendees, totalling over 21 000 registrants.

•

The week was also not remiss of opportunities to reconnect with colleagues from around the globe, andoffered trainees a chance to establish their own network of peers and future colleagues.

A special mention also to the Canadian representatives who were selected to present Brown Bag sessions this year:• Dr. Lawrence de Koning for “Critically high Ammonia in an Adolescent: Review of a Clinical Case
Study from the Clinical Chemistry Journal”,• Dr. Janet Simons for “Troubleshooting Analytical
Interferences”, Victoria Higgins for “Laboratory
Assessment of Pediatric Metabolic Syndrome”,• Dr. Nicole White-Al Habeeb for “Serum Free Light
Chains (sFLC): Advantages and Disadvantages ofCurrently Available Assays” and “Methods to Detect Circulating MicroRNAs (miRNAs) in the Clinical Laboratory”,• Dr. Jessica Gifford for “Harmonizing Reference Intervals – A Provincial Example”,• Dr. Dorothy Truong for “Decreasing Barriers to
Testing: HIV Point-of-Care Testing” and “Minimal
Residual Disease in Multiple Myeloma: The Needfor More Sensitive Assays?”,• Dr. Danijela Konforte for “Strategies for Streamlining Analytical and Post-Analytical Processes inClinical Urine Multi-Target Drug Testing Using LCMS/MS Technology” and• Dr. Angela Fung for “Sepsis Biomarkers and theRole of the Laboratory”.
Finally, congratulations to the individuals who represented CSCC in the various AACC trainee awards
this year:

One of the highlights of the joint AACC/CSCC meeting
was the CSCC “Canada Party” reception held in thebeautiful setting of
Manchester Grand
Hyatt hotel on thesecond full day ofthe conference.
The very successful
gathering brought
together a large
group of Canadiansout from the general attendee crowd, allowed colleagues a time to relax,
catch up and reconnect, in an atmosphere enhancedby live music, delicious food, and laughter amongst
friends.
The scientific content of the meeting was top notch,with topics covering a wide variety of fields withinlaboratory medicine.
Some highlights from Canadian participants include:• an enlightening symposium on serum protein
electrophoresis reporting practices with presentations by Dr. Ron Booth and Dr. Chris McCudden;•

the use of MALDI-TOF in clinical laboratories including a presentation by Canada’s own Dr. Mari
DeMarco; as well asa symposium on high-sensitivity cardiac troponin rule-in and rule-out strategies which
included a presentation by another Canadian,Dr. Peter Kavsak.

Article continued on next page

14

•
•
•
•
•

Drs. Dorothy Truong, Angela Fung, and Albert
Tsui for SYCL travel grants,
Sarah Delaney for oral contest honorable mention,
Dr. Felix Leung for 1st place in the poster contest,
Dr. Uvaraj Uddayasankar for 2nd place in theposter contest andVictoria Higgins for honorable mention in theposter contest.

Our Canadian trainees certainly swept the stage thisyear!
A special thank you to CSCC members who made contributions to this article: Dr. Vilte Barakauskas, Dr. Danijela Konforte, Dr. Terrence Agbor, Dr. Dennis Orton, Dr.
Michelle Parker, Dr. Josko Ivica, Dr. Fang Wu, Dr. Albert
Tsui and Dr. Felix Leung.

15

Minutes of the 9th EFLM General Meetingby Ana-Maria Simundic
EFLM EB Secretary
Presentations and documents referred to in theseminutes can be viewed and downloaded from EFLM’s
website: https://www.eflm.eu/site/page/a/1058/.
1. OPENING AND WELCOMEThe EFLM President, Sverre Sandberg (SS), greeted
the audience and welcomed delegates to the General Meeting (GM) in Athens. SS pointed out that IFCC
proposal shall not be discussed, because it will first be
elaborated in more details within IFCC. Once EFLM receives a well elaborated proposal, it will be discussed
among EFLM members.
SS announced a small break before the elections, toallow all delegates who were out at other meetings,
to come for voting.
SS reminded all attendees that EFLM is 10 years old andthat one of the founders of EFLM was Vic Blaton, whosadly passed away earlier this year and who had the ideathat there should be one organization within Europe andthat therefore EC4 and FESC should be merged.
SS called for one minute of silence to memorize thelegacy of Vic Blaton.
2. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTESOF THE PREVIOUS GM
No matters arising from the minutes of the last GM in
Paris, June 2015. Minutes were approved.
3. PRESIDENT’S REPORTSS provided an overview of the recent EFLM activities,
since the last GM in Paris. SS said that EFLM is representing laboratory medicine in Europe and that EFLM
is doing what national societies (NSs) want it to do.
SS called all participants to send their proposals for
future actions and activities to EFLM.
Furthermore, SS pointed out that the goal of EFLM is
to include representatives from all EFLM NSs in different functional units. SS encouraged all NSs to engage
more in the work of EFLM and invited all countries

who are not represented yet within the EFLM, to send
their nominations to various WGs.
SS again reminded NSs why there was a change in bylaws. He continued by emphasizing that EFLM is trying
to make a new image. SS called all participants to let
us know if there are some things which we need to
do better.
The inclusion of EC4 into the EFLM structure was successfully managed and SS explained how it was done
and why is it important. Furthermore, he gave a brief
overview of the ongoing and future projects within
EFLM.
At the end of his presentation, SS thanked all EFLM
officers who voluntarily contribute to EFLM for their
hard work. There were no comments. The report wasendorsed.
4. TREASURER’S REPORT
Huib Storm (HS), EFLM Treasurer, gave a report on thefollowing:
1. Audit
2. Balance sheet 2016
3. Internal budget 2016
Audit of the EFLM financial matters for 2016 had been
done in accordance with GAAP (General Accountant
Audit principles) by the certified auditor. The audit
was successful and EFLM has obtained a certificate
proving that EFLM accounts are maintained fully inaccordance with the Belgian law and GAAP.
HS presented the Balance sheet for 2016 according to
Belgian GAAP and invited EFLM NSs for its approval.
GM has approved the accounts by General Meeting(which constitutes the discharge for EB members).
HS has also presented the Internal Budget 2017 andasked for its formal approval.
EFLM GM approved the Internal budget with 25/25
votes in favour.
Article continued on next page16

5. ELECTION EXECUTIVE BOARD 2018-2019
Mauro Panteghini, the Past President (MP) has briefly
explained the procedure of elections for the EB members. According to current EFLM membership, the quorum is 21 members. During the voting procedure there
were 25 NSs present. Majority represents 13 votes.
All decisions are made by a simple voting (majority of
votes present).
• Ana-Maria Simundic was the only candidate
and was elected by acclamation as EFLM
President-elect.
• Giuseppe Lippi was the only candidate andwas elected by acclamation as EFLM Secretary• Huib Storm was the only candidate and waselected by acclamation for a second two-years
term as EFLM Treasurer (third term)
Candidates for 2 Member-at-large positions were:• Prof. Tiago Guimaraes (Portugal)• Prof. Grazyna Sypniewska (Poland)• Prof. Michel Langlois (Belgium)• Prof. Tomas Zima (Czech Rep)
Thus, for Member-at-large there were 4 candidates
and a candidate needs more that 50% of votes. If
nobody has the majority, the candidate who has thelowest number of votes is left out and there is another round of voting, until some candidate gets a majority of votes.
As there were 4 candidates for 2 Member-at-large
positions, MP invited GM members to first vote for a
first position.
1. Member-at-large position

Candidate

Numberof votes(1st round)Numberof votes(2nd round)

Grazyna Sypniewska

5left out

Tiago Guimaraes

914Tomas Zima

6

11

Michel Langlois

5left out

Two candidates had the same lowest number (5) of
votes (SYPNIEWSKA and LANGLOIS). MP said that
according to the procedure there should be anothervoting round, but he said that NSs could also decide
to exclude two last candidates with the least numberof votes.
NSs voted for the preferred choice and 20/25 NSs werein favour of dropping last two candidates. As Tiago Guimaraes had received the majority of votes, out of thetwo remaining candidates, he was elected for the first
Member-at-large position.
2. Member-at-large position
Candidate

Number of
votes

Grazyna Sypniewska

3Tomas Zima

13

Michel Langlois

9

As Tomas Zima had received the majority of votes, he
was elected for the second Member-at-large position(third term).
6. MEMBERSHIP - NATIONAL SOCIETIESApplication of the Kosovan Association for Clinical
Chemistry as Full IFCC Member
Kosovo has been accepted as IFCC Full Member. Therefore their membership is, in accordance with the EFLM
bylaws, automatically upgraded from Affiliated to Fullmembership. AMS has briefly informed the NSs about
that.
Slovak Society for Laboratory Medicine (SSLM) has
requested to become a Provisional Member
Slovak Society for Laboratory Medicine has applied for
Provisional membership and has submitted all necessary documents. This is a subject to voting by the
EFLM NSs.
This decision has been voted for by 25/25 votes.
7. REPORTS FROM COMMITTEE CHAIRS
Reports about the past and ongoing activities within the EFLM functional units were given by the Science Committee (E. Kilpatrick, C-S Chair), Profession
Article continued on next page17

Committee (G. Wieringa, C-P Chair), Quality & Regulations Committee (W. Huisman, C-Q-R Chair), Education & Training Committee (R. Lichtinghagen, C-ET
Chair) and Communication Committee (M. Graziani,
C-ET Chair). Power point presentations with reports
can be viewed and downloaded from EFLM’s website:
https://www.eflm.eu/site/page/a/1058/.
There were several questions asked
from the audience.
Q: Hans Janssen (NL) asked how C-S chair is seeing thenecessity to have internationally acceptable standards
and documents. How do we plan to work with the restof the world?
C-S chair replied that producing standards and recommendations is viewed as an important activity within
EFLM. He stated he was due to meet Philippe Gillery,
Chair of the IFCC Scientific Division, later during theAthens meeting to ensure a co-ordinated approach tothese activities and where there was any overlap that
this be approached jointly. The EFLM will hopefully
also be able to ‘adapt or adopt’ some existing excellent guidelines from its constituent national societies.
Q: Ian Young (UK) – asked about the position of C-P
and EFLM regarding the Brexit?
GW: replied that we should stop talking about EU andstart talking about Europe.

available to all NSs. It will be submitted for publicationby the end of 2017.
Q: Ferruccio Cerriotti (IT): reiterated the request to
NSs to respond to surveys. SS added that EFLM needs
feedback from its members. EFLM NSs members
are kindly requested to respond to various EFLM requests and share with EFLM their views and needs.
No further questions were raised.
8. REPORT FROM IFCC
Maurizio Ferrari (MF) has given a report about thepast and ongoing activities within the IFCC. Power
point presentation with this report can be viewed anddownloaded from EFLM’s website: https://www.eflm.
eu/site/page/a/1058/.
He emphasised the intense activity of various IFCC
units and difficulties in managing and supervising
their work. The number of Task forces has increased
and they are not under strict control. It was therefore decided to maintain very few task forces andmove all other under the divisions. To achieve that,some new divisions shall be created. One new division shall be Emerging technology division. The chair
will be Sergio Bernardini. IFCC shall communicate allthese changes with its members in a timely manner.
No questions were raised.
9. DATE AND PLACE OF THE NEXT EFLM GM

Q: Ferruccio Cerriotti (IT): asked whether EFLM Syllabus is published.

The next GM shall take place in October 2018 in
Antalya.

C-P chair replied that version 5 is almost complete andshall soon (within not more than 4 months) be madeThe exact time and date shall be communicated soon.
GA was closed at 18:00.

Updates on EFLM publications
by Maria Stella Graziani
Chair, EFLM Communications Committee
Three more impressive articles by EFLM Working
Groups have been made available, attesting once moreto the engagement of EFLM functional units in valuable
scientific activity.
They are sumarized below, with authorship information.

1) Defining a roadmap for harmonizing quality indicators in Laboratory Medicine: a consensus statement on behalf of the IFCC Working Group “Laboratory Error and Patient Safety” and EFLM Task andFinish Group “Performance specifications for the extra-analytical phases”
Article continued on next page18

Sciacovelli L, Panteghini M, Lippi G, Sumarac Z, Cadamuro J, De Olivera Galoro CA, Del Pino Castro IG,
Shcolnik W, Plebani M.
Clin Chem Lab Med 2017;55:1478-88
This joint paper by the IFCC Working Group “Laboratory Error and Patient Safety” and EFLM Task and Finish
Group “Performance specifications for the extra-analytical phases” reports on the outcomes of the 2016
Consensus Conference held in Padova (Italy). The aimof the Conference was to achieve a consensus for effective harmonization of quality indicators (QIs) thatare needed to evaluate the performances of Clinical Laboratories and to recognize the critical aspects
where improvement actions are necessary. A generalagreement was obtained; the main outcomes are:1. the release of a new version of model of quality
indicators (MQI),
2. the approval of a criterion for establishing
performance specifications and3. the definition of the type of information thatshould be provided within the report to the clinical laboratories participating in the QIs project.
This consensus is particularly important because, despite the large number of papers published and themany presentations during international scientificmeetings, a large and steady participation of clinicallaboratories in the MQI project has been difficult toachieve. The two main strategies identified by the experts at the Conference are the involvement of national scientific societies, accreditation bodies andEQA/PT providers of different countries, as a meansfor disseminating the MQI project and promoting theparticipation of laboratories and the selection andappointment of a National Leader, who should coordinate and manage the MQI project in each country.
2) A survey of patients’ views from eight European
countries of interpretive support from Specialists inLaboratory Medicine
Watson ID, Oosterhuis WP, Jorgensen PE, Z. Dikmen
ZG, Siodmiak J, Jovicic S, et al. on behalf of the European Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory
Medicine Working Group on Patient Focused Laboratory Medicine
Clin Chem Lab Med 2017;55:1496-500

The study was established to determine whether
patients are interested in receiving their laboratory
medicine results possibly with explanatory notes. For
the scope, a survey was carried out in eight European
countries (Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Serbia, Turkey) interviewing 1084 individuals. A significant proportion of subjects (65%) are interested in receiving the laboratory
results and a very large percentage of these (72%)
are willing to obtain individualized comment and interpretation on the reports as well. Furthermore, aspecialist in Laboratory Medicine is an acceptable professional for such a purpose for a mean percentage of
62% of those responding positively. Considering thata previous work by the same group (Clin Chem Lab
Med 2015;53:1961–6) demonstrated a willingness byLaboratory Medicine professionals to engage in suchpractice, there is an opportunity to progress such an
initiative. This is a very interesting chance to makeLaboratory Medicine directly connect with patients
offering a new paradigm for the provision of laboratory medicine activities. This challenge needs to beaddressed with active engagement by the profession.
Interested professionals wishing to proceed are invited to visit the Working Group on Patient Focused Laboratory Medicine webpage at the EFLM website; they
could find there a productive advice. (https://www.
eflm.eu/upload/docs/Basic%20Guidance%20for%20
PFLM%202017.pdf).
3) The EuBIVAS project: Within and between-subject
biological variation data for serum creatinine using
enzymatic and alkaline picrate methods and implications for monitoring.
Carobene A, Marino I, Coşkun A, Serteser M, Unsal I,
Guerra E, et al. on behalf of the European Biological
Variation Study of the EFLM Working Group on Biological Variation.
Clin Chem 2017 doi 10.1373/clinchem.2017.275115
This is another important paper carried out by the
EFLM Working Group on Biological Variation reporting on the biological variation (BV) indices for serum
creatinine using both enzymatic and alkaline picratemeasurement methods in the frame of the EuBIVAS(European Biological Variation Study) that was established to deliver rigorously determined BV indices.
Article continued on next page

19

The study involved 91 healthy subjects from six different European Centres while the tests have been performed centrally at the S. Raffaele Hospital in Milan (Italy). The within-subject BV estimates were similar for
enzymatic (4.4%) and alkaline picrate (4.7%) methods,
and lower than the estimate presently available online(CVI=5.9%).
The analytical variation for alkaline picrate methods indicates that this method fails to fulfil analytical performance specifications for imprecision.
The BV estimates obtained in this study are widely applicable and they may be used to determine the analytical performance specifications for imprecision atinternational levels in the absence of suitable clinicaloutcome studies. The alkaline picrate method failed tomeet these specifications, raising questions regarding
its future use.
This interesting and rigorous study apart from offeringrobust BV indices, adds another tile in the worldwide
debate on the methods to be used to measure serum
creatinine to obtain accurate estimates of glomerular
filtration rate.
The list of the EFLM publications is available online,
under EFLM Publications, where you can download
the full papers:
www.eflm.eu

EFLM Webinars
by Daniel Rajdl
Chair, EFLM WG Distance Education and e-Learning
The EFLM WG “Distance Education and e-Learning” incollaboration with the EFLM WG “Congress and PostGraduate Education” are pleased to inform about
forthcoming EFLM webinars. The attendance at these
EFLM webinars is free of charge. For those not able toattend, the recording of all EFLM webinars is available
on at the new EFLM e-learning platform:
https://elearning.eflm.eu.
18 October 2017 at 18h00 CET (new final scheduled
date compared to the first one announced)• Hepatic fibrosis assessment using
multiparametric biomarker tests
Speaker: Ralf Lichtinghagen (DE)Moderator: Merve Sibel Gungoren (TR)
7 November 2017 at 18h00 CET• The development of guidelines andrecommendations for peripheral blood film
review internationally (European Syllabus
Course)Speaker: Anna Merino (ES)14 November 2017 at 18h00 CET• Harmonization of preanalytical phase in Europe

Speaker: Ana-Maria Simundic (HR)Moderator: João Tiago Guimarães (PT)19 December 2017 at 18h00 CET• Laboratory haemostasis (European Syllabus
Course)Speaker: Giuseppe Lippi (IT)23 January 2018 at 18.00 CET (preliminary date)• Faecal Haemoglobin: Newer Approaches to
Screening and Diagnosis of Colorectal Disease
Speaker: Callum G. Fraser (UK)
Moderator: Sally C Benton (UK)
6 March 2018 at 18.00 CET (new final scheduled datecompared to the first one announced)• Reliable estimates of biological variation – theway forward
Speaker: Aasne Karine Aarsand (NO)Moderator: Bill Bartlett (UK)27 March 2018 at 14.00 CET (preliminary date)• M-protein diagnostics of Multiple Myeloma
patients treated with biologics
Speaker: Hans Jacobs (NL)
Moderator: Jillian Tate (AU)Secure your place and make your registration now at https://elearning.eflm.eu.

20

IFCC PROFESSIONAL SCIENTIFIC EXCHANGE PROGRAMME (PSEP)
My experience in Zimbabwe
by Ronald Khunga
MalawiINTRODUCTION
My name is Ronald Khunga and I was awarded a Scholarship to attend a three month PMEP training in External Quality Assurance (EQA). The Malawi government
has adopted the SLMTA (Strengthening Laboratory
Management towards Accreditation) as a means to
get its public and private laboratories accredited byInternational bodies such as ASLM. EQA is one of therequirements when it comes to international laboratory accreditation. Malawi does not currently have a
National EQA program which has made access to EQA
material difficult and expensive for most public andprivate laboratories, hence the failure to participate
in such has been the result. This has had a negative
effect on individual laboratories and the nation as awhole as we seek to attain accreditation.

My visit to Zimbabwe was aimed to have an experienceand gain knowledge on how to organize an EQA program so I can assist coordinate the birth and functionof a national program in Malawi.
During my stay, I was attached to Zimbabwe National
Quality Assurance Program (ZINQAP) which is a Regional Centre of Excellence according to SANAS (South
African National Accreditation System) and at the department of Chemical Pathology at University of Zimbabwe. I was under the Supervision of Mr. CuthbertMusarurwa (Chairman of the department of Chemical Pathology), Prof. Hilda Matarira and Mrs. Sibongile
Zimuto (Director at ZINQAP). I spent 8 weeks (13thMarch to 12th May) at ZINQAP and the remainder at
the Chemical Pathology laboratory.
OBJECTIVES•••

To acquire in depth knowledge of running anExternal Quality Assessment programme
To be oriented in the day to day routine laboratory and administrative activities
To participate in Proficiency testing activities

ACHIEVEMENTS
•
•
•
•
•
Ronald Khunga

Gained knowledge in the requirements in running an EQA program
Participation in technical and planning meetings
Participation in the preparation and dispatch of
PT samples (April and May shipments)
Participation in in-house orientation training
on Quality Management Systems (QMS) in a PT
laboratory.
I was given an opportunity to present an overview about my attachment at the department ofChemical Pathology.
Article continued on next page21

CHALLENGES

6. Presentation of Attachment Period•

I was given an opportunity to present at the department of Chemical Pathology where my supervisors,other key members of staff and Masters in Science
students were in attendance. (I have attached thepresentation).

•••

Limitation of time meant some of the in-house
QMS training was not done
Training on some equipment was not possible asmachines had not yet been installed
An initial challenge in the place I was accommodated in meant I had to move to a new house which
was much better.
A bench fee was requested though it had not been
initially negotiated. But the request was later withdrawn.

ACTIVITIES
1. Preparation and dispatch of PT samples

WAY FORWARD
As we plan to form a National Quality Assurance program in Malawi, there is a lot of work to be done.
Though by my experience, I am confident that we are
not very far behind as a country. As we charter forward we intend to do the following:

I participated in the shipments of April which was the
Haematology shipment and May which was the Serology shipment. My responsibility was to shadow thePT team in all steps of preparation and dispatch. I had
experience in preparing samples (such as FBC, bloodgrouping), homogeneity testing, packaging of samples, checking of packages and delivery of PT samples.

1. Develop an EQA Establishment Work plan

2. Planning of PT Scheme

2. Establish an EQA Technical Working Group –Steering Committee

Before every shipment there is a need to plan the shipment. My responsibility like the first activity was toshadow the team and perform any other assigned activities. I had experience in using the PT Assist softwarein planning for a shipment, collecting action packs fromFedEx and stock management.
3. Data entry and Management
With the use of PT Assist, I was able to enter data fromprevious shipments and also generate a report fromthe same software.
4. Orientation in QMS and ISO 17043
The Director and the Quality Officer briefly took me
through the requirements in running a PT program according to ISO 17043. I was privileged to gain a valuable
insight on this standard and also get a copy of ZINQAP’s
Quality Manual.
5. Participation of Meetings
I was privileged to take part in three planning meetings
chaired by the Director and assigned personnel and alsoa Quality Assurance Technical Working Group meeting
where I interacted with some of the key stakeholders.

This is the framework that will guide us in all the activities and resources we would need to establish andimplement a functional EQA program. I intend to workwith the Malawi College of Medicine, Malawi Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists (MAMLS) andthe Ministry of Health.

This will be a valuable way to allow the Ministry andvarious stakeholders to contribute to the national
EQA program. This will be done under the guidance of
the Diagnostics department at the Ministry of Health.
3. Involve all key stakeholders to ensure buy-in andeffective operation
This cannot be overemphasized. As a team we intend
to find ways in which to constantly involve key stakeholders so as to commit their technical and financial
support to the project.
CONCLUSION
I have learnt much during my stay and I believe I will
be able to use this knowledge to help my country as
we set up a similar program.I would like to express
my appreciation again to the President of IFCC, mysupervisors and my family and friends for making theexchange programme a success.
Acknowledgements: IFCC, University of Zimbabwe Chemical Pathology Department, ZINQAP

22

IFCC's Calendar of Congresses, Conferences & Events
Calendar of IFCC Congresses/Conferences
and Regional Federations' Congresses
XIV International Congressof Pediatric Laboratory Medicine
WorldLab Durban 2017

Durban, ZA

Oct 21, 2017

IFCC-POCT Satellite Meeting
WorldLab Durban 2017

Durban, ZA

Oct 22, 2017

IFCC Intelligent Clinical Laboratory
Management: Impacts on Quality
System Improvement

Durban, ZA

Oct 22 - 25, 2017

XXIII IFCC WORLDLAB - DURBAN 2017

Durban, ZA

Oct 26 - 27, 2017

IFCC Satellite Meeting"Biomarkers for Diabetes" WorldLab Durban 2017

Cape Town, ZA

May 19 - 23, 2019

IFCC - EFLM EUROMEDLAB 2019

Barcelona, ES

May 24 - 28, 2020

XXIV IFCC WorldLab - Seoul 2020

Seoul, KR

May 16 - 20, 2021

XXIV IFCC - EFLM EUROMEDLAB MUNICH 2021

Munich, DE

May 21 - 25, 2023

XXV IFCC - EFLM WORLDLAB EUROMEDLAB - ROME 2023

Rome, ITOct 20 - 22, 2017

Calendar continued on next page23

Calendar of events with IFCC auspices
Oct 1 - 31, 2017

Workshop and Course in clinical microbiology update 2017

Quito, EC

Oct 11 - 12, 2017

3rd National Congress from Laboratory Medicine
to Medicine in the Laboratory

Riva del Garda,
IT

Oct 11 - 13, 2017

III Russian Congress of Laboratory Medicine

Moscow, RU

Oct 11 - 14, 2017

14th Annual Congress of the German Society of Clinical Chemistry
and Laboratory Medicine (DGKL)

Oldenburg, DE

Oct 13 - 16, 2017

17°Congreso Internacional del Colegio Nacional de Bacteriologia

Cali, COOct 16 - 18, 201749th National Congress of S.I.Bio.C.-Laboratory Medicine

Firenze, IT

Oct 16 - 17, 2017

Journées Nationales 2017de la Société Française de Biologie Clinique

Paris, FR

Oct 18 - 20, 2017

LMCE 2017 & KSLM 58th Annual Meeting

Seoul, KR

Oct 26 - 28, 2017

Biochemistry Clinic and Hematology Workshop

Machala, EC

Oct 26, 2017

International Conference on Laboratory Medicine“Uncertainty, quality, safety and accreditation in Laboratory Medicine”

Padova, IT

Nov 1 - 4, 2017

Congreso Nacional Bioquimico Cubra XIV

Rio Negro, AR

Nov 8 - 11, 2017

2nd International Conference on Natural Products
for Cancer Prevention and Therapy

Kayseri, TR

Nov 15 - 17, 2017

XI Congreso Nacional del Laboratorio Clínico

Málaga, ES

Nov 21 - 23, 2017

3rd Annual Meeting, Saudi Society for Clinical Chemistry

Jeddah, SA

Nov 30, 201711th International Scientific Meeting of the Centree of MetrologicalTraceability in Laboratory Medicine (CIRME)“Measurement Uncertainty in Medical Laboratories: Friend or Foe?”

Milan, IT

Dec 1, 201751e Journée de Biologie Praticienne (JBP 2017)

Paris, FR

Dec 4 - 5, 2017

JCTLM Members & Stakeholders Meeting 2017

Paris, FR

Dec 12, 2017

7th International Conference on Quality of Medical Laboratories

Brdo Pri Kranju, SI

Dec 19 - 21, 2017

1st International Congress on Biomedicine

Tehran, IR

Feb 8 - 9, 2018

International Congress on Quality in Laboratory Medicine

Helsinki, FI

Jun 12 - 15, 2018

XXXVI Nordic Congress of Clinical Chemistry

Helsinki, FI

Jun 21 - 22, 2018

7th International Symposium on Critical Care Testing and Blood Gases

Antibes, FR

Sep 30 - Oct 3, 2018

Santorini Conference “Systems medicine and personalised health& therapy” - “The odyssey from hope to practice”.

Thira Santorini,
GR

24

IFCC MEMBERSHIP
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Latin America Confederation of Clinical Biochemistry(COLABIOCLI)North American Federation of Clinical Chemistry andLaboratory Medicine (NAFCC)

Corporate Members
AbbottADx Neurosciences
Agappe Diagnostics, Ltd.
Analis R&D Diag.
Asahi Kasei Pharma Corp., AS
Axis Shield Point of Care Division
BD Life Sciences – Preanalytical Systems
Beckman Coulter, Inc.
Beijing Dream Diagnostics Medicine (DDM)
Technology Co. Ltd.
The Binding Site Group, Ltd.
Bio-Rad Laboratories
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Shanghai Zhicheng Biol. Tech. Co., Ltd.
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Mexico: Federación Nacional de Químicos Clínicos (CONAQUIC A.C.)
Nepal: Nepalese Association for Clinical Chemistry (NACC)
Philippines: Philippine Council for Quality Assurance in Clinical Laboratories (PCQACL)
Russia: Regional Association for Clinical Laboratory Diagnosis, St. Petersburg
Spain: Asociación Española de Farmacéuticos Analistas (AEFA)
Turkey: Society of Clinical Biochemistry Specialists (KBUD)
Ukraine: Association for Quality Assurance of Laboratory Medicine (AQALM)

Publisher
Communications and Publications
Division (CPD) of the IFCC
Copyright © 2017 IFCC. All rights reserved.

EditorTahir Pillay, MB ChB, PhD, FRCPath (Lon), FCPath (SA)
Department of Chemical Pathology
University of Pretoria, South Africa
E-mail: enews@ifcc.org

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