Insights from GCIAMT 2025
Eoin McGrath- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
The Ibero-American Cooperative Group of Transfusion Medicine (GCIAMT by its Spanish acronym) recently celebrated its 30th anniversary with its 13th Congress held on 23-26 April 2025 in Asunción, Paraguay. This event was hosted alongside several significant gatherings, including the 4th Ibero-American Congress of Hematology, the 6th Congress of the Paraguayan Society of Hematology and Transfusion Medicine, and the inaugural Congress of the Paraguayan Society of Transfusion Medicine and Cellular Therapy.
With over 800 participants from 25 countries, this congress served as a vital platform for professionals, researchers, blood donation advocates, and specialists in hematology and transfusion medicine. It enabled engaging discussions on recent innovations and best practices while encouraging international collaborations aimed at advancing medical science and enhancing healthcare practices. The three-day program dedicated significant focus to organizational and quality topics in blood transfusion.
Participation in this congress aligned with the strategic focus of ICCBBA, positioning Latin America as a priority region for the next three years, alongside India and Africa. This setting provided a valuable opportunity to listen, learn, and build stronger connections across the community.
Key Takeaways
Data from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) revealed that over 1,700 blood centers are operational across 34 countries. Of these, in 20 countries, the average number of units processed per centre per year was below 5,000 units. While there is a prevalent reliance on family and replacement donors, volunteer donations are on the rise.
Blood donation systems across the region are fragmented, divided between public and private collection centers, which poses challenges in ensuring uniform standards and equitable access to blood products across different regions.
Hemovigilance systems have only been implemented in a limited number of countries. While traceability is formally required, the robustness and reliability of these systems depend largely on each country's infrastructure and regulatory environment.
In many healthcare facilities, recordkeeping is still done manually, highlighting the urgency of transitioning to electronic health records. This digital transformation is a crucial step toward enhancing patient safety, efficiency, and integration in healthcare services.
Product identification and coding systems are predominantly confined to individual institutions or hospital networks due to the absence of national or international frameworks. Although the ISBT 128 Standard— the global standard for the terminology, identification, coding, labeling, and information transfer of medical products of human origin —is widely recognized as essential for enhancing patient safety and interoperability, its full implementation is still considered a longer-term objective. In the near term, foundational investments in digital infrastructure are a higher priority. Informal discussions at the congress highlighted a shared enthusiasm for the ISBT 128 Standard, particularly regarding its potential to strengthen regional coordination, hemovigilance, and patient care.
While each country in the region faces unique circumstances, blood and cell therapy professionals share many challenges in their mission to care for their patients and donors. Endemic infectious diseases place a significant burden on blood services in terms of testing requirements and infrastructure. Compared to high-income regions, these professionals work with fewer financial and human resources. Professional development opportunities can be difficult to access. Private healthcare institutions tend to have more resources to devote to certification than their public sector equivalents. Regulatory frameworks vary widely in quality, and regulators are cautious about imposing mandates that may be impractical to enforce. Despite the challenges, these professionals are dedicated to improving their practice, and we were struck by their passion when talking about what they do or what they want to achieve.
Innovation in Action
One of the most remarkable innovations presented at the congress was Hemoderivados, a public, nonprofit pharmaceutical laboratory affiliated with the National University of Córdoba. Its innovative model facilitates the exchange of surplus plasma from neighboring countries for plasma-derived products like immunoglobulin, turning regional collaboration into tangible lifesaving solutions. Hemoderivados received the 2019 United Nations Excellence in Public Service Award, which recognizes the creative achievements and contributions of public service institutions.
Looking ahead
We are grateful for the warm hospitality of our hosts in Paraguay and the camaraderie of everyone we met throughout the congress. The next edition of GCIAMT will be in 2027 in Mexico, and we definitely plan on repeating the experience.
The path toward broader adoption of ISBT 128 presents both challenges and opportunities. We are enthusiastic about strengthening the partnerships formed during the congress as we explore how ICCBBA can contribute to advancing patient safety and hemovigilance in transfusion medicine throughout Latin America.
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About ICCBBA:
ICCBBA is the nonprofit international standards organization responsible for the development and management of the ISBT 128 Standard.
The acronym ISBT was originally derived from the important role played by the International Society of Blood Transfusion in the development of the Standard. Today it expands as Information Standard for Blood and Transplantation. The number 128 reflects the 128 characters of the ISO/IEC 646 7-bit character set.
The acronym ICCBBA is derived from the International Council for Commonality in Blood Banking Automation.
For More Information About ICCBBA:
Media Contact:
Christina Salinas
Email: support@isbt128.org
Authors
Executive Director, ICCBBA
Mónica Freire
Standards Documentation Manager, ICCBBA
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