End of the year is always a good time to look back and reflect on the past year. As the JACIE team met in Barcelona in November, I was struck by the progress we have made in the last couple of years whether it’s been in working collaboratively with colleagues in tissues and cells field in Europe and further afield; developing further resources to our volunteer inspectors or embedding the quality management systems (QMS) in our operational practices. We have been working on a number of different strands of work that have at times been challenging, but there is such a sense of achievement when those strands come together.
We are still finalising the activity numbers for 2024 with few weeks’ left of this year, but we already know that we are looking at record numbers of activity by our usual activity measures. Obviously none of our inspections would take place without our volunteer inspectors and we are so grateful for their ongoing support and commitment to take on this activity. In 2024, we trained 59 new inspectors in Barcelona, Cambridge and Stockholm. The training days are always highlights in our calendar and I would like to thank BSBMTCT JACIE Committee and the Nordic Transplant Group for their support for these training events. Working with our Inspector Committee, we also published a new Team Leader Guide and continued the Inspector Webinars in order to provide ongoing support for our inspectors.
The unsung heroes of our audit process are the members of our Accreditation Committee who have tirelessly reviewed the inspection reports and sometimes have taken the very difficult decisions on the Centres’ compliance. The committee members are acutely aware the importance their decisions often have for the Centre but I think that is also where our process really come to its own: these are audits delivered by peers in a spirit of learning from each other and appreciating the challenges the Centres face clinically and operationally. Thank you all, both collectively and individually.
For much of the year we have also worked with our US colleagues to develop the 9th edition of the HSC Standards and the 3rd edition of the Immune Effector Cells (IEC) Standards. There is still much to do with the review of the comments from the Public Consultation commencing in January 2025. Although the Standards are not likely to come into effect until end of 2025, I already want to extend my thanks to Dr Lynn Manson and our Sub-Committee Chairs, Dr Charles Crawley; Professor Nina Worel, Ms Anne Emmett, Professor Ivan van Riet and Dr Jaap Jan Zwaginga, who have with their US colleagues steered this work. With their Committee members they have spent mornings, days and nights thinking and talking about the Standards.
There is a lot to be optimistic about when we think about what 2025 might bring to JACIE. With ongoing advancements in cellular therapies, the introduction of new technologies, and increasingly complex environment we work in, it is important that we continue to work together to build an even stronger, more inclusive and resilient JACIE that meets the needs of our stakeholders. It is a real privilege to meet and work with you and to be a part of this exceptional community.
Wishing you and your families a peaceful holiday season and a prosperous New Year from all of us in the JACIE Office.
Tuula Rintala
Director, Advocacy and Quality of Care