eNewsletter 2013 March - April

On March 2, 2013 the members of the Executive Committee of IFCC (International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine), COLABIOCLI (Confederación Latinoamericana de Bioquímica Clínica) and CUBRA (Confederación Unificada Bioquímica de la República Argentina) gathered at the headquarters of the Fundación Bioquímica Argentina - Buenos Aires.

The IFCC participants of the meeting were, Dr. Graham Beastall, President (UK), Dr. Howard Morris, Vice President (Australia), Dr. Jocelyn Hicks, Past President (USA), Dr. Sergio Bernardini, Secretary (Italy), Dr. Bernard Gouget, Treasurer (France), Dr .Vanessa Steenkamp, Executive Board Member for South Africa (Africa), Dr. Ulysses Tuma, Executive Board Member, Latin America (Brazil), Dr. Larry Kricka, Executive Board Member,  AACC (USA), Dr. Thomas Brinkmann, Corporate Representative (Switzerland) and Ms. Paola Bramati, administrative secretary. Representatives of COLABIOCLI were Dr. Carlos Navarro, President, Dr. Roberto Garcia, Vice President and Dr. Daniel Mazziotta. CUBRA was represented by Dr. Jorge Alegre, President, Dr. Alberto Casado, Secretary and Dr. Maria Alejandra Arias, Treasurer.

Dr. Graham Beastall began  the meeting by thanking the hosts and expressing that it  is a real pleasure to be with both institutions (COLABIOCLI - CUBRA) gathered in this wonderful country for the second time in the history of IFCC. The meeting was driven by  the possibility of finding areas of common interest between the three entities.

Dr. Carlos Navarro was very satisfied with the outcome of that meeting in CUBA, which bore fruit, the meeting in Argentina. For his part, Dr. Jorge Alegre emphasizes working together with the  Latin American entity, whose executive is in Argentina for the period.

Reference was made to the activities carried in Latin America such as in the RIA space (Iberoamerican space) and the recent addition of the radio program "The Microscope" conducted by Dr. Hernan Fares Taie (Argentina). During Quality Management the 3 month internships in different laboratories funded by the travel scholarship (ROCHE) for participation allowed Dr. Arias to participate in the IFCC General Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In this connection , there was also willingness to fund  6 scholarships to the  COLABIOCLI Congress in October 2013 in Lima - Peru. There will also be greater  Latin American participation of regional news publications in e-news IFCC.

The Symposia held in Punta Cana and in Kuala Lumpur were mentioned as both very enriching for both Latin America and the IFCC. It was stated  that the program of activities with the other federations that make up IFCC was very complete.

IFCC achieved the signing of the formal agreement of collaboration with COLABIOCLI.

Dr. Navarro says that once an enquiry to the member countries of the Confederation, has been made, beyond agreeing with the signing of the agreement has not materialized yet despite the years that have passed and they, recognize and value the contribution of IFCC without which existence things will be different. Importantly, the collaboration will be mutual, since the reality in Latin America is very different from other regions; therefore the contributions that can be made from here are very valuable and enriching.

Dr. Navarro says that not all members of COLABIOCLI are members of IFCC and this could hinder the understanding and this is an area for some work to be done in the Confederation in which he presides. The reason for keeping the agreement is purely economic since based on the Latin American reality, will not be possible with other federations.

IFCC noted that federations work closely with corporate members, exhibitions, congresses, etc. and propose to organize networks of corporate members in Latin America to achieve greater economic support of  regional congresses. Both organizations are committed to working to finalize the agreement so that it is advantageous to all.

Concluding  on this topic, it was agreed that it is important to show the Latin American countries the advantages of belonging to IFCC, to encourage  joining  this company and that economics should not be a constraint to working  together. Dr. Hicks said that it is advisable to involve COLABIOCLI and to work with interesting corporate members to feel part of the project and not only are those who contribute money.

Dr. Navarro explained briefly that the activities that are being developed in COLABIOCLI, example  the survey distributed in all countries of the Confederation regarding  a future level training curriculum  beyond a bachelor's degree and commented that a meeting will be held in Guatemala in April  to reach a basic agreement.

Later Dr. Roberto Garcia proposed an incorporation between IFCC scientific activities, the project Bacova (Balance del Contenido Vaginal) and explained its objectives and results achieved in Argentina. The main idea is to organize training courses offered from an IFCC working group created for the purpose and with the participation of regional representatives and members of other federations. The reception by members of IFCC was successful, and they are trying to expand their goals by working in other areas. They pledged to discuss the possibility of including this in the IFCC Scientific Division. Dr. Navarro adds that this type of activity contributes to the professional ranking and positioning in the laboratory.

Dr. Daniel Mazziotta stated that a regional question arises because of the urgent need to standardize the laboratory so that traceability is transferred to patient outcomes. He Proposed strategies make the professional   standard system homogeneous. He considered  it a reality that is difficult to change but in turn there is a need to standardize laboratory training, if only in the long term. The idea is to create a reference metrology laboratory to service other clinical analysis centers. IFCC commits to convey this to the Committee on Traceability belonging to the Scientific Division, trying to align mounting reference methods.

At the conclusion of the meeting there were  ways evaluated  to improve communication between IFCC and COLABIOCLI. Reference was made to the operation of web sites and the interaction between the entities in the presence of institutional links in them, stressed the importance of starting to use the Spanish language for messages and / or letters.

Dr. Navarro highlighted the performance of partners from both IFCC and CUBRA, who had contributed to the growth of this relationship.

Finally participants  reviewed the schedule of regional events, beginning with the Congress in Lima (Peru) that will be attended on behalf of IFCC by Dr. Tuma, the Congress of Quito (Ecuador) and Congress CUBRA XII in October 2013, Congress Biochemist National, which will be attended by a visiting professor, thanks to the program of "Visiting Lecturer" of IFCC.

  The IFCC EB with members of the COLABIOCLI and CUBRA EBs, and Paola Bramati - IFCC Office, in Buenos Aires

Dr G. Beastall, IFCC President, and Dr C. Navarro, COLABIOCLI President at the joint meeting

from left: Dr C. Navarro, COLABIOCLI President with Dr G. Beastall, IFCC President,
and Prof. J. Hicks, IFCC Immediate Past President, during the IFCC-COLABIOCLI-CUBRA Meeting