Α.Α.Β.Β. Accreditation

The International Accreditation for the Family Banking of Stem Cells

AABB (American Association of Blood Banks) is an international non-profil organisation that represents individuals and institutes working in the field of tranfusion medicine and cellular therapies. Its aim is to promote health by setting the standards, the accreditations and the educational programmes focused on the safety of blood donor and patient. AABB checks and certifies 2.000 institutes and has 8.000 members, doctors, nurses, researchers, technologist and health economists based in 80 countries.

It is the oldest non-profit accreditation institute, founded in 1956 and with blood and its derivatives, its tranfusions, records undesirable effects and totally controls the operation of the stem cells banks and the cell therapies too. It has a Research and Development department, publishes a monthly scientific journal, books, organises conferences and sponsors new scientists. Traditionally, AABB accredits family stem cells banks and always correlates the control procedures with the safety of the recipient. Biohellenika is the third accredited bank in Europe by AABB and the 26^th worthwide (except U.S.).

The accreditation service offered by AABB promotes the quality and the safety of the collection, the isolation, the cryopreservation and the quality control of blood within laboratories and monitors the patient after the treatment and records the undesirable effects.

AABB sets extremely high standards for the safety of patients and donors and requires the lab to already hοld the basic certifications (ISO) before proceeding in the evaluation of a laboratory for the first time.

The fields that AABB accredits is the delivery, the transportation, the process, the cryopreservation, the quality tests and the transfer of the sample for use to a transplant center. It also accredits the tests relating to the controls before granting the sample such as the histocompatibility, the granting process and the effects recording during the administration of the sample or after the short period after the administration.

The reassessment of the laboratory is scheduled every 2 year and 6 months before, starts the process of reevaluation in terms of compliance with the comments identified during the previous inspection. Today, AABB is the leading institute in accrediting an isolation and cryopreservation stem cells private laboratory and in cell treatments with a special commitment to the patient.