Subject: European HbA1c Proficiency Test Announcement
Mr. Chief Physician,
Dear Hospital Biochemistry Lab Supervisor,
Considering the country's priorities, the Reference Materials Laboratory was established in 2012 under the Chemistry Group of TÜBİTAK National Metrology Institute to produce certified reference materials needed for measurements in the fields of health, environment and food safety and to organize qualification tests. (http://www.ume.tubitak.gov.tr/tr/laboratuvarlarimiz/referans-malzemeler-…).
Organized by the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (IFCC), Education Committee on the Use of Diabetes Biomarkers (IFCC C-EUBD), HbA1c proficiency tests (EurA1c program) have been organized throughout Europe since 2016 in order to evaluate the standardization status of Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) measurement results performed in clinical laboratories of European countries (ensuring harmonization between laboratories), to compare the performance of countries and devices used in measurements, and our country's laboratories contribute to this program every year. The program is coordinated by Prof. Dr. Diler Aslan, Faculty Member of Pamukkale University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Medical Biochemistry, who has studies in this field in our country. The organization and financing of the program is carried out by TÜBİTAK UME.
Approximately 50 medical (clinical) laboratories from our country participated in the EurA1c proficiency testing programs organized between 2016 and 2021 and the results of these studies are given in the annexes (Annexes 1-6).
The "EurA1c Interlaboratory Comparison Project Turkey Final Report", which evaluates the participation results of clinical laboratories in Turkey in EurA1c 2016, EurA1c 2017 and EurA1c 2018 programs, is attached (Annex 7).
In the EurA1c 2022 program to be held in 2022, clinical laboratories that measure HbA1c throughout Turkey will be invited and participating laboratories will be determined by considering the order of application and/or geographical representation.
The "EurA1c-2020 Proficiency Test Application Form" (Annex 8) and "EurA1c Proficiency Test Announcement" (Annex 9) required for participation in the relevant study are attached. The relevant laboratories should fill out the application form and send it to the coordinator Prof. Dr. Diler Aslan "daslan@pau.edu.tr" and the organizer Dr. Gonca ALTIN "ume.h1acdiskalite@tubitak.gov.tr" e-mail addresses no later than November 30, 2022 to be sent by the deadline.
Annexes
1. EurA1c-2016 Report (21 pages)
2. EurA1c-2017 Report (16 pages)
3. EurA1c-2018 Report (16 pages)
4. EurA1c-2019 Report (18 pages)
5. EurA1c-2020 Report (21 pages)
6. EurA1c-2021 Report (18 pages)
