The quality management team of the German Biobank Node (GBN) trained employees of the Turkish accreditation body TURKAK in the implementation of the ISO 20387 standard for biobanking at the beginning of November 2021. In the future, TURKAK staff will audit Turkish biobanks and decide on their accreditation according to ISO 20387. Members of the GBN QM team were involved in the development of the standard published in 2018.
Technical and background knowledge
In addition to information on the biobanking standard, the QM experts provided the necessary background knowledge on the tasks and working methods of biobanks during the two-day online training. Christiane Hartfeldt (QM coordinator, GBN), Dr. Sabrina Schmitt (BioMaterialBank Heidelberg) and Bettina Meinung (Integrierte Biobank Jena) illustrated their explanations with photo and video material on biobanking and presented the documents and forms of the GBN QM manual as well as the GBN verification sheets of the internal audits. The Turkish colleagues were enthusiastic about the training and the technical insights. Such a course could not have taken place at the example of Turkish biobanks due to the neutrality required by auditors.
Example of European cooperation
"We are very pleased that our Turkish colleagues have trusted in us," says GBN Managing Director Dr. Cornelia Specht. "Our QM experts were happy to share their knowledge. The cooperation with TURKAK is a nice example of how we can exchange ideas on a European level and mutually benefit from our competences."
The training of the Turkish auditors by GBN's QM team was made possible within the framework of the project "Technical Assistance for Enhancement of Turkak's capacity in accreditation of Conformity Assessment Bodies" funded by the EU and the Republic of Turkey.
Turkey is an observer of the European biobanking infrastructure BBMRI-ERIC and has its own "National Node" for biobanks, BBMRI.tr.
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