Eurocet
Centro Nacional de Transplante
Istituto Superiore di Sanità
Viale Regina Elena 299
00161 - Roma (I)
Phone: 06 4990 4040-1
Fax: 06 49 90 4101
eurocet@iss.it
From a project to the registry of the Competent Authorities
Nowadays Eurocet has evolved itself into:
- the official information website for all European and extra-European citizens, patients, professional operators and institutions, accessible via internet on real-time, with interactive and user friendly tools;
- the European Registry of the Competent Authorities for tissues and cells;
- the registry of tissue establishments coming from all Competent Authorities, as stated in the European Directive EC 2004/23 "Setting standards of quality and safety for the donation, procurement, testing, processing, preservation, storage and distribution of human tissues and cells"; Eurocet responds to the requirements set out in article 10 of the Directive 2004/23/CE since it publishes an updated official registry of all tissues establishments;
- a tool aiming to collect data on tissues, hematopoietic and reproductive cells donation and transplantation activities provided by all national competent authorities; these authorities can refer to Eurocet as a practical point of reference for data collecting;
- an instrument which provides a standard terminology for organs, tissues and cells thanks to a glossary (available on Eurocet website); this useful glossary has also been used as basis for other international projects;
- a common medium for the increasing of public awareness and sensibility towards the value of donation at social and human level.
The European Commission encouraged the use of Eurocet portal as a way to fulfil the obligations of the tissues and cells Directives (as stated during the CAs meeting on 27th May 2009).
As a matter of fact, Eurocet activity is deeply linked with all European Competent Authorities (known as the "27 group") and even with extra-European countries.
In this mutual context, since 2008 the Italian National Transplant Centre (which was the group leader of the initial projects, Eurodonor and Eurocet) supports the efforts of Eurocet in order to enhance the network of Competent Authorities and to respond to the obligations of the tissues and cells Directives. Furthermore, the Italian National Transplant Centre backs Eurocet in managing and improving its original aims, as requested by all Competent Authorities during the last international meetings.
