Task Force on Ethics (TF-E)

Membership

NamePositionCountryTermTime in Office
J. WiencekChairUS1st2024 01 - 2026 12
M. ZaninottoMemberIT1st2023 03 - 2025 12 
SK DattaMemberIN2nd2023 01 - 2025 12
J. VeronaMemberAR2nd2023 01 - 2025 12
A. AmayoMemberKE1st2024 01 - 2026 12
N. FinkConsultantAR
E. FreggiaroEB LiaisonAR  

TF-E members during their second 2024 zoom meeting

Aim

  • To increase awareness among Laboratory Medicine Professionals of ethical issues
  • To encourage the practice of Laboratory Medicine to the highest ethical standards
  • To develop guidance documents for member societies on ethics related issues
  • To provide a voice for Laboratory Medicine on ethical issues

Objectives

  • Recognizing that IFCC is formed by representatives from Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine in more than 90 countries plus more than 40 corporate members, it is unlikely that the TF can create documents that would be acceptable to all national societies. For that reason, the TF should instead focus on guidance documents to assist member societies to create their own unique policies and statements
  • A secondary objective is to ensure that each paper is published in professional journal(s) and that it is also made available to the general public

Background

During the term 1997-1999, the EB of the IFCC accepted the principle of establishing an Ethics Committee. In various parts of the world, individual professional organizations have raised awareness of ethics-related issues among their members and have produced documents addressing some of the key issues. Other organizations have not, and would like guidance on how to create such documents. In general, the Laboratory Medicine community has not provided organized discussion in which the members can actively participate. There has been even less effort at the international level to create a collective voice for ethical issues in Laboratory Medicine. Laboratory Medicine organizations have a responsibility to advance the interest of their members but the IFCC strategic vision also clearly states that the ultimate goal is to benefit the health and well-being of the patients and communities we serve. This test of our professional responsibility demands that we do not simply perform tests and use technology uncritically. We cannot be isolated from the impact of our work on society.

Resources

The Task Force on Ethics has produced the following documents:

The group also produced three teaching modules entitled: "Ethics in Laboratory Medicine", "Ethics Education" and "Publication Ethics". These modules are freely available in this website in the eAcademy section http://eacademy.ifcc.org/events/aacc-pearls-of-laboratory-medicine/.

List of Corresponding Members, nominated by National Societies

NameFull and Affiliate Member Societies
Nafija SerdarevicAssociation of Medical Biochemists in Bosnia-Herzegovina
Estelle BugniSociété Française de Biologie Clinique (SFBC)
Manana AkhvledianiLaboratory Medicine Association of Georgia (GLMA)
Shin-ichi SakasegawaJapan Society of Clinical Chemistry (JSCC)
Valdas BanysLithuanian Society of Laboratory Medicine
Binod Kumar YadavNepal Association for Medical Laboratory Science (NAMLS)
Santosh PradhanNepalese Association for Clinical Chemistry (NACC)
Olisekodiaka Japhet MaduAssociation of Clinical Chemists Nigeria (ACCN)
Irina S. StepanenkoAssociation of Laboratory Specialists and Organizations «Federation of Laboratory Medicine» (FLM) - RU
Gulsen YilmazTurkish Biochemical Society (TBS)
Melissa BudelierAssociation for Diagnostics & Laboratory Medicine - ADLM - US
Sody MunsakaBiomedical Society of Zambia (BSZ)

List of Corresponding Members, nominated by Companies

NameCompany
Randy SchneiderAbbott
Ana-Maria ŠimundićGreiner Bio-One

Chair

Dr Joesph WIENCEK
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
The Vanderbilt Clinic
Nashville, TN - USA
email: joe.wiencek@vumc.org

Members

Dr. Sudip Kumar DATTA
Department of Laboratory Medicine,
AIIMS, New Delhi - India
e-mail: dr.sudipdatta@gmail.com

Dr. Martina ZANINOTTO
Azienda Ospedaliera Padova
Conegliano Veneto (PD) - Italia
e-mail: martina.zaninotto@aopd.veneto.it

Dr. Julián VERONA
Servicio de Laboratorio
Hospital de Balcarce,
Buenos Aires, Argentina
email: julianverona@hotmail.com

Dr. Angela Atieno Amayo

P.O. Box 19434
00202 Nairobi, Kenya
Email: aamayo2@gmail.com

Consultant

Dr Nilda FINK
Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas,
Facultad de Ciencias Exactas,
Universidad Nacional de La Plata,
Calle 47 y 115, 1900
La Plata - Argentina
e-mail: NFink@fbpba.org.ar

EB Liaison

Dr. Eduardo Freggiaro
Fundación Bioquímica Argentina
President
Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires
C1053ABW - Argentina
email: freggiaro@yahoo.com.ar