Asia-Pacific Federation for Clinical Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine (APFCB)
The APFCB is a federation of 16 national and area associations
of clinical biochemistry and laboratory medicine in the
Asia-Pacific region whose membership comprises the following:
•
Australasian Association of Clinical Biochemists (AACB)
•
Chinese Society of Laboratory Medicine (CSLM)
• Hong
Kong Society of Clinical Chemistry (HKSCC)
•
Association of Clinical Biochemists of India (ACBI)
•
Indonesian Association for Clinical Chemistry (IACC)
•
Japan Society of Clinical Chemistry (JSCC)
•
Korean Society of Clinical Chemistry (KSCC)
•
Malaysian Association of Clinical Biochemists (MACB)
•
Nepal Association for Medical Laboratory Sciences (NAMLS)
•
Pakistan Society of Chemical Pathologists (PSCP)
•
Philippine Association of Medical Technologists (PAMET)
•
Singapore Association of Clinical Biochemists (SACB)
•
Association for Clinical Biochemistry, Sri Lanka (ACBSL)
•
Association for Clinical Biochemistry, Taipei, China (CACB)
•
Thailand Association of Clinical Biochemists (TACB)
•
Vietnamese Association of Clinical Biochemistry (VACB)
All the 16 APFCB members are also IFCC members.
Thirteen in-vitro diagnostics companies, both multinational and
regional, make up the APFCB's Corporate Membership. Affiliate
Membership of the APFCB is offered to organisations in laboratory
medicine that are not national/area associations of clinical
biochemistry: the Chinese Association for Clinical Laboratory
Management and the Macao Laboratory Medicine Association are
Affiliate members.
The governing body of the APFCB is the Council which delegates
the management of the federation activities to the Executive Board.
The professional activities of the APFCB are executed through its
five standing committees, these being the Communications (C-Comm),
Education (C-Edu), Laboratory Management (C-LM), Scientific (C-Sci)
and Congress and Conferences (C-CC) committees. In addition, ad hoc
committees are formed for specific purposes such as awards and
scholarships. All committees report to the EB which then reports to
the Council. The APFCB is domiciled in Singapore where its bank
account is also maintained. The APFCB Office in Singapore manages
the APFCB's financial and regulatory affairs.
The major activity of the C-Edu is the organisation of visiting
lectureships of which there are three. The longest running of these
is the APFCB Travelling Lectureship which was initiated in 1999.
This lectureship is organised at an approximately biennial
frequency where an eminent speaker from the region is appointed by
the Executive Board to travel to member countries to speak on areas
of current interest, usually at the annual scientific meetings of
the APFCB members.
The C-Edu also organises the bi-annual APFCB-Beckman Coulter
Education Symposium lectures where a visiting lecturer from within
or outside the region visits about 4 of the APFCB's members to
present a series of lectures. The Symposium, which is sponsored by
Beckman Coulter, a Corporate Member of the APFCB, tends to focus on
the practical aspects of clinical chemistry and laboratory quality.
The C-Edu also organises the IFCC VLP to the region once every two
years.
The C-Sci undertakes the organisation of scientific projects on
a regional basis in areas of current interest. A project on
reference intervals of populations in different cities within the
region has already been completed and its results were published in
2008. The follow-up to this has been an expanded project, organised
in 2009, involving more cities and a larger number of analytes.
The activities of the C-LM have thus far focused on education in
the area of laboratory quality. Towards this end it has helped
organise courses on QA/QC. In addition, the C-LM conducts an
educational programme on interpretative commentary of laboratory
results. Two rounds have been completed and the third round began
in 2011.
The C-CC is involved in the planning and supervising of the
triennial APFCB congress and APFCB regional conferences and works
closely with the local organising committees to ensure the success
of these congresses.
The triennial Asian-Pacific Congress of Clinical Biochemistry
(APCCBs), now renamed APFCB congress, is the scientific congress of
the APFCB. The first congress was held in 1979 in Singapore. The
13th APFCB congress will be held in Bali, Indonesia in 2013 and the
14th in Taiwan in 2016.
The APFCB publishes an annual newsletter called the APFCB News
that is distributed to the APFCB members and senior clinical
chemists outside the region, without charge. From 2010, the APFCB
News will be published online (available for download at
www.apfcb.org) and hard copies will no longer be circulated. The
Clinical Biochemist Reviews is the Medline-indexed, quarterly
journal of the AACB which is published in association with the
APFCB.
The APFCB Philanthropic Fund was started in 2005 with a generous
donation from the IFCC. Its aim is to assist in the professional
and career development of deserving young clinical biochemists with
scholarships and travel grants to undergo training and to present
their research at meetings within the region. The Fund will also
provide assistance to members who are unable to attend the Council
meetings of the APFCB.
Linkages with organisations outside the Asia-Pacific region have
been established: The agreement on the APFCB congress that was
signed between the APFCB and the IFCC forms the basis of the formal
relationship between the two federations. The APFCB signed a
Memorandum of Understanding in May 2011 with the World Association
of Societies of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (WASPaLM).
APFCB President:
Prof. Leslie LAI
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
E-mail: leslielai@myjaring.net
APFCB Website: http://www.apfcb.org