Task Force on Ethics (TF-E)
Membership
Name | Position | Country | Term | Time in Office |
J. Wiencek | Chair | US | 1st | 2024 01 - 2026 12 |
M. Zaninotto | Member | IT | 1st | 2023 03 - 2025 12 |
SK Datta | Member | IN | 2nd | 2023 01 - 2025 12 |
J. Verona | Member | AR | 2nd | 2023 01 - 2025 12 |
A. Amayo | Member | KE | 1st | 2024 01 - 2026 12 |
N. Fink | Consultant | AR | ||
E. Freggiaro | EB Liaison | AR |

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:
- "IFCC Code of Ethics 2021" (August 2021)
- IFCC free Webinar on "Ethical dilemmas in laboratory medicine during pandemic" (20th October 2021)
- "Ethics Policies" (April 2020)
- eAcademy Webinars:
- Ethics & Professionalism for IFCC Volunteers - Part 1 Apr 2020Ethics & Professionalism for IFCC Volunteers - Part 2 Apr 2020
- Other webinars
- Ethics Education Jan 2017
- Publication Ethics Mar 2016 - Pearls of Laboratory Medicine, in cooperation with AACC
- Toolkit with a list of topics and articles related to Ethics in Laboratory Medicine (March 2019)
- "Ethical Considerations in Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine" (January 2016)
- "Publication Ethics and Ethics in Science" (November 2012)
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
Name | Full and Affiliate Member Societies |
---|---|
Nafija Serdarevic | Association of Medical Biochemists in Bosnia-Herzegovina |
Estelle Bugni | Société Française de Biologie Clinique (SFBC) |
Manana Akhvlediani | Laboratory Medicine Association of Georgia (GLMA) |
Shin-ichi Sakasegawa | Japan Society of Clinical Chemistry (JSCC) |
Valdas Banys | Lithuanian Society of Laboratory Medicine |
Binod Kumar Yadav | Nepal Association for Medical Laboratory Science (NAMLS) |
Santosh Pradhan | Nepalese Association for Clinical Chemistry (NACC) |
Olisekodiaka Japhet Madu | Association of Clinical Chemists Nigeria (ACCN) |
Irina S. Stepanenko | Association of Laboratory Specialists and Organizations «Federation of Laboratory Medicine» (FLM) - RU |
Gulsen Yilmaz | Turkish Biochemical Society (TBS) |
Melissa Budelier | Association for Diagnostics & Laboratory Medicine - ADLM - US |
Sody Munsaka | Biomedical Society of Zambia (BSZ) |
List of Corresponding Members, nominated by Companies
Name | Company |
---|---|
Randy Schneider | Abbott |
Ana-Maria Šimundić | Greiner 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