ASH Announces Donation of NGS Equipment to Low- and Middle-Income Countries
In late November, 2020, the American Society of Hematology (ASH) announced the donation of next-generation sequencing (NGS) equipment to six reference laboratories in five countries that comprise the International Consortium on Acute Leukemia (ICAL), a clinical network strongly supported by the Society that brings together leading clinical investigators from Europe, North America, and South America to improve the standard of care and outcomes for patients with leukemia in Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay.
The effort to donate six iSeqâ„¢ 100 instruments and implement protocols for their use is being led by two ICAL volunteers and pioneers in NGS, Peter Valk, PhD, of the Erasmus University Medical Centre in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and Torsten Haferlach, MD, of the Munich Leukemia Laboratory in Germany and The Torsten Haferlach Leukemia Diagnostics Foundation.
“ICAL has paved the way for many inspiring improvements in care for individuals living with acute myeloid leukemia in developing countries,†said 2020 ASH President Stephanie Lee, MD, MPH, of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. “We appreciate the efforts of Drs. Haferlach and Valk to spearhead the implementation of NGS for patients in participating countries. Their actions will enable patients in these countries to access appropriate care for their disease sub-type that was likely previously out of reach.â€
The Torsten Haferlach Leukemia Diagnostics Foundation of Germany agreed to donate Illumina iSeq 100 machines, reagent starter kits, and software tools to each of the countries participating in ICAL. The donation, which was also supported by the biotechnology company Illumina, will help ensure that AML patients in these nations benefit from more accurate diagnostic classification and prognostic assessment, and that they will ultimately have access to precision treatments.
The iSeq 100 instruments and consumables will be installed and fully operational by early 2021. Full training for the lab teams will be delivered by Dr. Valk and his team from the Erasmus University Medical Centre in Rotterdam, as well as Dr. Haferlach’s team at the MLL Munich Leukemia Laboratory.
Learn more about ICAL and other international ASH programs at hematology.org/global-initiatives.