CLSI members share best practices around the world.(LAB VOLUNTEERS)

Quality laboratory testing is an integral element of the clinical diagnostic scheme, infectious disease surveillance, and public health. Following Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) protocols can help change the course of disease diagnosis and prevention, treatment, and ultimately improve life expectancy. As part of its Global Health Partnerships, CLSI offers technical assistance in essential laboratory services capacity building to many resource-constrained countries.

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During the past few years, CLSI volunteers and staff have provided technical assistance in Tanzania, Namibia, Cote d'lvoire, and Mali, with plans to expand the laboratory strengthening to Ethiopia and Nigeria. The process takes time and the commitment of volunteers and in-country laboratory professionals dedicated to malting a difference, says Patricia Rizzo-Price, vice president of CLSI Global Health Partnerships.

Taking on the task of implementing a quality plan in a foreign laboratory can seem daunting. "It is overwhelming to think of millions of people in desperate need of assistance; but at the same time, it is encouraging to remember that every journey begins with the first step, and that step by step and day by day, you can make a difference," says Barb linger, a CLSI volunteer who worked in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania.

As a volunteer-driven, non-profit organization dedicated to developing standards and guidelines for the healthcare and medical-testing community, CLSI offers support to laboratories in need of quality improvements. CLSI's process facilitates the creation of standards and guidelines that are reliable, practical, and achievable for an effective quality system, and they represent the "best practices" in laboratory testing. "We worked with the Tanzanian laboratorians to improve and enhance laboratory standards and promote good practice in their laboratories," says Unger.

CLSI's work involves assessments, training, and implementation. First, preliminary meetings with in-country partners are held. Then, a gap analysis is conducted, and training modules are provided. Finally, mentoring, self-assessment tools and ongoing advisement are offered. "The engine that makes it all work is our amazing volunteers. We have a dedicated group of international volunteers who are both talented and committed to making a difference," says Rizzo-Price.

"Improving the quality of clinical laboratories will most assuredly improve the quality of health care in developing countries," says Anthony LaPorta, a CLSI Global Health Partnerships volunteer who worked at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center, Moshi, Tanzania.

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Acting as a mentor and educator for the laboratory, Donna Watsky, a CLSI volunteer who worked in Mbeya, Tanzania, says she watched those with whom she worked take ownership of the laboratory quality plan and, eventually, move the project forward on their own.

"It was my job to encourage and guide the staff to develop a quality plan and give them advice," Watsky says. "I have great confidence in the laboratory folks in Mbeya, and I expect to see implementation move ahead. In the United States, we did it little by little; in Santo Domingo, poco a poor, and in Tanzania, pole pole. Now the program belongs to the laboratory to carry out."

For more information about CLSI's volunteer program, visit www.cLsi.org.

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