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-…).
HbA1c proficiency tests (EurA1c program) organized by the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (IFCC), Education Committee on the Use of Diabetes Biomarkers (IFCC C-EUBD), 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, Retired Faculty Member of Pamukkale University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Medical Biochemistry, who has been working in this field in our country. The program is organized and financed by TÜBİTAK UME.
Approximately 50 medical (clinical) laboratories from our country participated in the EurA1c proficiency testing programs organized between 2016 and 2022 and the results of these studies are given in the annexes (Annexes 1-7).
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 8).
In the EurA1c 2023 program to be organized in 2023, clinical laboratories performing HbA1c measurement throughout Turkey will be invited and participating laboratories will be determined by considering the order of application and/or geographical representation.
The "EurA1c-2023 Proficiency Test Application Form" (Annex 9) and "EurA1c-2023 Proficiency Test Announcement" (Annex 10) required for participation in the relevant study are attached. Responsible of the relevant laboratories should fill in 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 January 12, 2024 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)
7.EurA1c-2022 Report (19 pages)
8.EurA1c-2016-2018 Turkey Final Report (61 pages)
