Latin American Association of
 Tissue Banks

IX Congress of the Latin American Association of Tissue Banks was held in Bogotá, Colombia.

The Latin American Association of Tissue Banks ALABAT, held its IX congress from November 6 to 8, 2024, at the convention center of the Windham Art Hotel in Bogotá, Colombia; with the institutional sponsorship of the District Institute of Science, Biotechnology and Innovation in Health of Bogotá.

n this 9th edition, ALABAT was joined by the subsidiary associations of the World Union of Tissue Banking Associations (WUTBA), such as the German Society for Tissue Transplantation (DGTG), the American Association of Tissue Banks (AATB), the South African Association of Tissue Banks (SATIBA) and the European Association of Tissue and Cell Banks (EATCB).

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International organizations such as representatives from the International Atomic Energy Organization (IOAE), the National Central Institute for the Coordination of Ablation and Implantation INCUCAI of Argentina, the Ministry of Health of Colombia, the National Institute for Rehabilitation Luis Guillermo Ibarra Ibarra of Mexico and the Federal Drug Administration of the USA, were highlighted for their second participation. As well as representatives from the Pan American Health Organization and the World Health Organization.

                                             

 

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Opening Ceremony

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During the opening ceremony, Dr. Francisco Martínez-Flores, President of ALABAT, welcomed all participants and sister associations, inviting everyone to actively participate and exchange scientific, academic and experience to strengthen tissue bank activities, as well as the creation of tissue banks in countries with low activity. He also mentioned that the congress responds to the need to implement international standards for tissue traceability and safety. He thanked the participation and support of the health authorities of Colombia as host country, Dr. Gustavo Salguero López, Director of IDCBIS, Dr. Astrid Malagón as representative of the organizing committee and WUTBA and its affiliated associations for their invaluable support.

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The current panorama of tissue banks in the World and the Region of the Americas.

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The first block presented the current panorama of tissue banks in Latin America, the organizational structure, operation, regulation and perspectives of countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay, Chile and Peru.

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Subsequently, the scientific panel of the World Union of Tissue Banking Associations was presented, with the participation of the American Association of Tissue Banks (AATB); the South African Association of Tissue Banks (SATIBA); the European Association of Tissue Banks (EATCB); and the Federal Drug Administration of the USA (FDA), during which the current state of donation and tissue banks in the USA, Europe, South Africa, and Latin America, as well as the strategies of various countries, were discussed.

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The final conclusions of this panel were: 

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1.- The need to implement tissue donation and transplant programs with self-sustaining models to encourage access to transplants in the population in an equitable and self-sufficient manner.

2.- The implementation of regulatory measures, traceability and quality control to guarantee the health safety of tissues or products derived from human tissues for transplant purposes. ​

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​ The First Award of the World Union of Tissue Banks, WUTBA Award 2024, was awarded to the Latin American Association of Tissue Banks.
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At the end of the panel, Martin Borgel,  General Secretary of the Union World of Tissue Banking Association, presented the WUTBA Award 2024 to the Latin American Association of Tissue Banks for its outstanding work and commitment in promoting tissue donation, scientific dissemination and the global exchange of scientific knowledge in the Americas region on tissue donation and transplant activities. The recognition was received by Dr. Francisco Martinez Flores, President of ALABAT and by Dr. Astrid Malagón, Vice President of ALABAT. Dr. Martínez-Flores thanked the distinction and said “this recognition is for all ALABAT members, each one of you makes it possible for our association to grow and strengthen every day.”

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Participation of 17 countries and 44 international teachers in the review of 10 thematic blocks.

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During the three days, 10 thematic blocks of work were reviewed, with 37 plenary presentations and conferences focused on:

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- The regional and global vision of tissue banks. 

- Regulatory policies in tissue banks.

- Traceability and quality control in tissue banks

- As well as experiences, uses and perspectives of ocular tissue banks, amniotic 

    membrane and skin. 

- Musculoskeletal tissue and cardiovascular tissue. 

- An overview of the new techniques of advanced medical biological therapies,  

   gene and cell therapy and tissue engineering were also presented and discussed.

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Regional Actions in the Development of the WHO Global Framework for Action on Tissue Transplantation GAFTT

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The congress concluded with a block of global initiatives to encourage tissue bank activity in Latin America, and the second regional meeting of global actions by PAHO and ALABAT to strengthen the WHO Global Access to Tissue Transplantation (GAFFT) program.

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Doctor Celina Horak from the International Atomic Energy Agency at the Americas region participated in this block. The progress and work being done in Latin America to encourage the activity of tissue banks were presented.

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Among the conclusions and commitments, Martin Borgel,  General Secretary of the World Union of Tissue Banks (WUTBA) and Dr. Francisco Martínez, President of ALABAT, joined in international cooperation and joint work to promote operational guidelines, regulatory proposals and promote training programs for professionals involved in donation, processing, transplantation and tissue banking activities in conjunction with the proposals of the WHO/PAHO.

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During the closing ceremony, Brazil and Argentina were awarded the prizes for best oral presentation work, respectively.

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Dr. Francisco Martínez Flores is re-elected as president for the period 2024-2026.

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Following the board meeting of the organizing committee, the current board of directors and the permanent members of ALABAT, in which, by unanimous vote; Dr. Francisco Martínez Flores, was nominated and reelected as president for a second term 2024-2026 of ALABAT. The meeting was held on November 8, 2024 at 5:30 p.m. Therefore, the board of directors of ALABAT will remain unchanged and with it; Mexico will maintain the presidency and will have the participation of Colombia, Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Peru in the board of directors.

 

Sorocaba, Brazil; headquarters of the 10th ALABAT 2026 congress.

Finally, during the closing statement, it was announced that the 10th Congress of the Latin American Association of Tissue Banks and the 25th anniversary of ALABAT will be held in the city of Sorocaba, Brazil in 2026.

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ALABAT recognizes the National Rehabilitation Institute for its traceability program and internal registry of tissue transplants.

 

The Luis Guillermo Ibarra Ibarra National Rehabilitation Institute (INRLGII) receives recognition from ALABAT for the presentation of the work “Tissue transplant monitoring: 5-year experience”, presented during the IX ALABAT congress. The merit of this recognition is based on the fact that INRLGII is the first institution to report tissue transplant monitoring in Latin America. This internal process was proposed by the Institute's Internal Transplant Committee as part of traceability and monitoring since 2018, in order to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of the clinical use of tissues. With this, the Institute carries out improvement actions to promote one of the objectives of the WHO Global Access to Transplants program in the Americas region.

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