TDI NEWS:

Blood bank safety hinges on the technical capability of those conducting serological screening. CIEI and TDI continue the Blood Bank Technician Blood Screening Certification Program.

     The training workshops are designed to increase the technical capability of the blood bank technicians who's duty is to ensure that the donated blood is free of infectious agents that could be transmitted through the blood.

"It is not enough to conduct screening of the donated blood", says Rosita Chiriboga, local supervisor of the project at Catholic University of Ecuador, "the screening needs to be conducted with the highest quality standards available to ensure reliable results. Only then can you have a safe blood supply"   

     In 2004, data obtained by the External Evaluation of Serology laboratories, conducted by CIEI and TDI, indicated that most of the technicians conducting blood screening in Ecuador had no formal training on serological techniques and that there was a lack of adequate internal quality control within the blood screening procedures. In response to this, CIEI and TDI, in collaboration with the Ecuadorian Secretariat of Blood Banks and the Ecuadorian Red Cross, initiated a training and certification program directed to Blood Bank Technicians. 

     This program includes an initial practical and theoretical evaluation, an intensive 3 day training that includes ELISA based testing, biosafety procedures, creation and application of standard operating procedures and final practical and theoretical evaluations. Only those achieving 85% or better in the final evaluations obtain a Certificate of Satisfactory Completion. This certificate is now mandatory for blood screening personnel in Ecuador.

    Two to three workshops are organized every year, depending on the needs of the blood bank system. Each workshop has a limit of 10 participants that are taught and evaluated by 3 instructors. Training is conducted at different blood banks every year in order to increase the local capacity of the host lab and to ensure that training is conducted in "real working conditions".

    I am very proud of our local personnel in Quito. Their dedication and the quality of their work within this training program not only improves the safety of the blood supply in Ecuador, but provides and example and inspiration for the blood bank technicians to do their very best", says Mario Grijalva, Director of the program.

    In addition to passing the evaluations, participants need to submit to CIEI a copy of the Standard Operating Procedures for blood screening tests used in their labs, prior to receiving the certification. This requirement forces participants to prepare this documents and hopefully to use them in their daily work.

    To date, 110  technicians from all the blood banks of the country have attended this training. Of those, 83% have obtained their certification. The certification is valid for one year. After that, technicians have to approve yearly a refresher course also organized by CIEI and TDI.

    Initial training and continuing education within a rigorous program  will ensure that those in charge of ensuring the safety of the blood supply are adequately prepared to prevent the transmission of transfusion-transmissible infectious agents.

 

Rosita Chiriboga teaches how to validate plates and use internal quality control procedures in the daily routine. Patricia Sosa lectures about Biosafety

Patricia Sosa, Dr. Roman Ochoa and Rosita Chiriboga in the closing of the workshop that took place in the "Maternidad Enrique Sotomayor", Guayaquil, Ecuador. Technicians practice Hepatitis B surface antigen ELISA

Participants in Guayaquil, from left to right:
Upper row: Gabriela Cueva (I), Raúl Enriquez, Rosita Chiriboga (I), Nancy Moreta, Mariana Bravo,Lenis Ortiz, Mireya Lara, Patricia Sosa (I), Nidia Agila
Lower row: Leonel Zuñiga, Soraya Uriña, Geovanna Zambrano, Karina Criollo y Patricia Landi

Participants in Quito from left to right:
Jacinto Roby, Eugenia Villagomez, Patricia Sosa (I), Rosita Chiriboga (I), Mónica Suárez, Azucena Ruíz, Dalila Castro, Ruby Vizcaino, Savina Batallas, Ligia Segura y Maritza Guamán

Gabriela Cueva instructs participant Raúl Enriquez on adequate sample delivery techniques.

Gabriela Cueva delivers a lecture on creation and application of Standard Operating Procedures for Blood Screening

Rosita Chiriboga supervises the practical exercise of cutoff calculation and plate validation.

Instructors:

• Master Rosita F. Chiriboga (CIEI)

• Lcda. Gabriela Cueva (CIEI)

• Lcda. Patricia Sosa (CIEI)

Financial support for this actitiy was provided by:

• Ecuadorian Red Cross, Secretaría Nacional de Bancos de Sangre

• TDI, Ohio University

• CIEI, Catholic University of Ecuador