HÉMA-QUÉBEC acquires cutting-edge screening technology

Saint-Laurent, January 7, 2002 - In keeping with its mission to provide the public with optimum-quality blood products, HÉMA-QUÉBEC has signed an agreement with Canadian firm Abbott Laboratories to acquire Abbott PRISM®, a fully automated instrument system for high-volume blood-screening laboratories... HÉMA-QUÉBEC will be the first blood products supplier in Canada - and probably the first in North America - to use this high-precision technology, which has an internationally proven track record.

"We are very excited about PRISM as it will enable us to fully automate a number of tests that are currently performed using semi-automated techniques. This system also offers several advantages over the technology currently in use. In particular, PRISM will permit improved standardization of analyses and increased protection with respect to non-compliant interventions or human error, and will provide an excellent system for documenting operator intervention. This allows us to achieve a higher level of blood product safety and quality - which is something our organization already prides itself in," explains Dr Francine Décary, Executive Director of HÉMA-QUÉBEC.

The PRISM system is designed to detect specific antigens or antibodies using cutting-edge chemiluminescence measurement technology.

This technology can detect the following antibodies and antigens:

• hepatitis C Virus Antibody (anti-HCV);
• human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 and Type 2 (anti-HIV-1/-2);
• human T-Cell Lymphotropic Virus Type I and Type II Antibody (anti-HTLV-I and anti- HTLV-II);
• hepatitis B Surface Antigen (HBsAg).

HÉMA-QUÉBEC's mission is to provide Quebeckers with sufficient quantities of safe, top-quality blood components, derivatives and blood substitutes to meet the needs of hospitals, and to provide recognized expertise and specialized services in the field of immunohematology.

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