LabsAreVital program out in full force at AACC

Originally founded by Abbott in 2006, ownership of LabsAreVital recently passed to the laboratory community, with the new consortium taking the lead. The ASCP (American Society for Clinical Pathology), IFCC (International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine), IFBLS (the International Federation of Biomedical Laboratory Science) and WASPaLM (the World Association of Societies of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine), are working together to develop the community via a new web platform and social media engagement. The website at www.labsarevital.com, is where supporters can read posts by world-renowned experts, contribute comments and access an online toolkit of resources.

Importantly, Abbott will remain involved as a sponsor, providing some of the financial support the new consortium needs to meet its goals. Additional sponsors are being encouraged to get involved too.

Graham Beastall, President, IFCC and long-time LabsAreVital supporter, said, “LabsAreVital is now an independent program owned and driven by the people it serves. The AACC is the perfect opportunity for us to explain how laboratory professionals, publishers and industry sponsors can get involved. Too many lab professionals feel that their profession is undervalued, underappreciated and underfunded. We want to make LabsAreVital a powerful voice to emphasize that laboratory medicine is part of the multidisciplinary team at the heart of patient care. We hope to speak to as many people as possible at the conference to spread the word that LabsAreVital!”