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First Inspector Training Course a Great Success! |
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 18 September 2008 )
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The first EUSTITE inspector training course was organised by the Ministry for Health and Women and held in Vienna from September 8th to 11th. The course participants, from 11 Competent Authorities in 10 EU Member States and 1 EFTA Country, had already completed a 6 week e-learning module to familiarise themselves with the theoretical aspects of the subject, particularly the relevant Directives and Regulations and the EUSTITE guidelines. This preparation allowed the course tutors to design a residential programme of almost continuous interactive activity, based on case studies, practical exercises and role-playing. The venue, nestled in the peaceful green Vienna Woods and bathed in warm sunshine for the whole week, provided participants with an idyllic setting for working in small groups, sharing experience and knowledge and applying it to challenging scenarios in the field of tissue and cell regulation. The tutors, and the project partner responsible for evaluation, stayed an extra day to examine the participant evaluation feedback, which was highly enthusiastic, and to agree improvements and enhancements for the next course which will be held in Sofia in the first week of December. A small number of places are still available for the Sofia course, though the subsequent course in Copenhagen is now fully subscribed. Nomination forms are available on this site for the remaining Sofia places and the final course which will be held in Italy in July 2009. |
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European Union Standards and Training in the Inspection of Tissue Establishments - EUSTITE |
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 07 May 2008 )
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EUSTITE is a 3 year project that has been funded by the European Union following the publication of 3 EU directives defining minimum standards of quality and safety for human tissues and cells that are applied to patients for therapeutic purposes. Examples are corneas that are donated after death and transplanted to patients during eye surgery, donated bone marrow that is used to treat patients with leukaemia or donated sperm that is used in assisted conception procedures. The EU Directives require Member States to ensure that procedures for collecting, processing, storing and distributing these tissues and cells are compliant with the standards defined in the Directives so that patients are treated with tissues and cells that will function as intended and will be safe. The project proposes standardised guidelines for the conduct of inspections and tested tools for the training of inspectors in this field to support Member States in the implementation of these Directives. The project began on December 1st 2006 and was officially launched at a meeting of the partners in Rome on December 11th and 12th. |
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