HÉMA-QUÉBEC's facility in Québec City successfully passes annual inspection

Montréal, December 23, 2002 - Inspectors from the Blood Establishment Regulation Division (BERD) - a branch of Health Canada - maintained Héma-Québec's operating licence following the yearly procedural audit, which took place at the Québec City facility between November 25 and 29, 2002.

Maintaining the licence ensures that the Québec blood supplier complies with the safety measures required by Health Canada and demonstrates that the population and hospital patients have reason to trust Héma-Québec and its personnel.

Once a year, Health Canada inspects Héma-Québec to verify that the requirements of the facility licence are respected. This licence aims to assure that the collective blood reserve is the most secure. The BERD inspectors were able to see, that during all the auditing of the Québec City establishment facilities, the security of blood components was the priority for Héma-Québec's personnel.

Observations of activities without major impact on product safety were made by the inspectors. Corrective measures were implemented or about to be. Observations concerned mainly improvements to be made to respect the Good Manufacturing Practices.

Each year, Héma-Québec holds more than 2 500 blood clinics throughout Québec and welcomes more than 280 000 donors.

Héma-Québec's mission is to efficiently provide adequate quantities of safe, top-quality blood components and substitutes, to meet the needs of all Quebeckers; and to provide and develop expertise and services along with specialized and innovative products in the field of transfusion medecine and human tissue transplantation.

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The list of observations made by the Blood Establishment Regulation Division and Héma-Québec's response are available on request.