Global Health Partnerships January-February 2023 Updates

CLSI staff recently returned from a busy trip that included stops in India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Highlights from the trip included attending the India Directors Conclave and MedLab Middle East 2023, as well as hosting a three-day training on the updates to ISO 15189:2022.

Read on to learn more about what our staff accomplished on their recent international trips.

India Directors Conclave

At the end of January, CLSI staff in partnership with the Foundation for Quality India (FQI) attended the India Directors Conclave, a two-day event that focused on CLSI standards and guidelines and how they support laboratory directors in improving quality. The trip to India marked the launch of CLSI’s activities in the region. The event was attended by more than 150 of India’s most influential lab directors and clinicians.

The Director’s Conclave was a great success! Participants were thrilled to take part, and it was also an excellent opportunity for CLSI to learn more about India's health care landscape and how we can better partner to support the country's needs. The most important takeaway from the India Director’s Conclave is that FQI, CLSI, and the Director’s Conclave attendees are all passionate about laboratory excellence and improving quality in India. We look forward to continuing our partnership in India.

MedLab Middle East

Following the trip to India, CLSI staff traveled to Dubai, UAE for the MedLab Middle East 2023 conference. This annual conference brings together medical laboratory professionals, device developers and manufacturers, regional governments, and other world organizations. With over 29,000 professional visitors, more than 700 stands, and individuals from over 40 countries—all focused on the latest advances in laboratory medicine— staff had a busy and productive time at the CLSI stand.

A major highlight of the conference was a talk by CLSI’s CEO, Dr. Barb Jones. She presented at the Saudi Quality Council sponsored program “Quality Management for Modern Labs.” Her presentation, “The Role of Quality in Shaping the Future of Labs in the Digitalization and Biotechnology Era,” was attended by over 450 people. This timely topic emphasized the importance of maintaining high standards of quality to meet the challenges posed by new technologies.

ISO Training

Following MedLab, CLSI staff stayed in Dubai to conduct a three-day training on ISO 15189:2022. The ISO 15189 standard is used by laboratories around the world to ensure quality in their operations. The newest revision of the standard was released in December 2022, and the three-day training session was conducted to help labs understand the new requirements.

The training was led by Dr. Patrick Mateta and Mr. Raymond Nyakuwocha, experts on ISO 15189 and the supporting CLSI documents that assist laboratories in meeting the ISO requirements. More than 30 attendees from laboratories in the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) region participated in the training.

Future trainings on the new edition of ISO 15189, as well as CLSI’s quality management principles, are planned for 2023 and 2024. These trainings are important opportunities for laboratories to learn how to improve their quality management systems. As we expand our engagement in the MENA area, CLSI will continue to provide these critically important training opportunities on ISO 15189 and many other standards and guidelines.

If you are interested in partnering on an upcoming training, please contact us at ghp@clsi.org or visit our training catalog here.

Are you in the MENA region? Follow our CLSI MENA LinkedIn.