EUROCORD
The European Commission recently awarded a grant to EUROCORD and the European School of Haematology (ESH) to develop a comprehensive online training tool in the field of umbilical cord blood biology. This project named EUROCORD-ED brings together many major European partners including, the European Hematology Association (EHA), NETCORD, the European Network of cord blood banks, the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT), the cord blood banks in Milano, Madrid, Leiden and Athens, basic science research groups and the companies Biostór Ireland, Macopharma and Alcimed.
The EUROCORD-ED project aims to inform and educate all the vocational actors involved in the field: laboratory scientists, technicians, clinicians, transplant physicians, obstetricians, midwives and biotechnology companies involved in banking, research, and the clinical analysis of cord blood and ICT. EUROCORD-ED also aims to inform future parents, and to support health policy decision makers.
All establishments involved in cord blood processing now need to be licensed and people need to be trained in the requirements of the Directives and Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP). EHA is partner in this project and supports the project because training is important to ensure pan-European harmonization of knowledge and skills and to guarantee the uniform implementation of quality control standards and EU directives. This project will build on previous European Commission grants awarded to EUROCORD and ESH related to training, mobility and quality control in the healthcare setting. The three-year project started officially with a kick-off meeting in October 2008 in France.
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