The future role of the professional associations in the promotion of tissue banking activities in Asia and the Pacific and in the Latin America regions

Abstract

There are several important roles that the established professional associations [Asia-Pacific Association of Surgical Tissue Banking (APASTB) and Latin American Association of Tissue Banks (ALABAT)] could play for the promotion of tissue banking activities in Asia and the Pacific and in the Latin American regions in the future. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) could also play an important role in supporting the activities of both professional associations in the field of training, exchange of scientific information, the standardisation of national norms and regulations, the use of the IAEA documents, particularly the "Radiation Sterilisation of Tissue Allografts: Requirements for Validation and Routine Control. A Code of Practice", with the purpose to improve the quality of the activities carried out by the established tissue banks and the nuclear facilities in charge of the sterilisation of the processed tissues, and to increase tissue donations. The role of APASTB and ALABAT could be relevant and important for the improvement of the work of the established tissue banks in Asia and the Pacific and in the Latin American regions, and could increase the effectiveness and efficiency of their works, the improvement of management good practices and for increasing the awareness of the community on the importance of the activities carried out by the tissue banks, among others.

Some Proposals to Strengthen the Cooperation between Tissue Banks and Organ Transplant Organizations at National, Regional, and International Levels

“…There are several regional professional associations [5] f that have been established with the aim of promoting tissue banking among its members, such as European Association of Tissue Banks (EATB), the American Association of Tissue Banks (AATB), the Latin American Association of Tissue Banks (ALABAT), and the Asian and the Pacific Association of Surgical Tissue Banking (APASTB). There are also several organizations involved in the donation of human organs operating in different countries and at the international level.…”

“…According to [1], several activities could be supported by these two groups of organizations in the future [5] g . Some of these activities are the following:…”

“…In the paper entitled "The Future Role of the Professional Associations in the Promotion of Tissue Banking Activities in Asia and the Pacific and in the Latin America Regions", published in 2011 by Cell Tissue Banking journal [5], a group of actions that these professional associations could be supported on this issue in the future are included.…”

“…g For a detailed description of the activities that these professional associations can carry out in the field of tissue banking see [5].…”