Bulletin 20-5

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AATB Provides Additional Details on the Standard Revision Announcement System Adopted on July 31, 2019

With a decision of the Board of Governors (BoG), the AATB changed its standard amendment approval and announcement system on January 31, 2019 (Bulletin No.19-1). Under the new system, standard revisions approved by the Standards Committee are presented to the BoG for approval on a quarterly basis and announced biannually in AATB Bulletins with a fixed 6-month implementation period, unless the changes are approved as “urgent”. Therefore, each change to a standard announced in a Bulletin becomes effective 6 months after the publication of the Bulletin. In addition to the standard changes approved by the BoG during the 2 quarters preceding the Bulletin announcement, each Bulletin contains a reminder to membership that the amendments announced in the previous Bulletin 6 months earlier are now effective. A link to the current set of the Standards containing the newly effective changes is also provided. 

Thus, each Bulletin presents 3 key sections of data: (i) an announcement listing the individual changes to individual standards approved in the preceding 6 months accompanied by brief explanation of intent and rationale behind each particular change; (ii) a reminder that the changes listed in the previous Bulletin are now in effect; and (iii) a link to the current set of the Standards in its entirety. Members must note that the changes to standards announced in section (i) of a Bulletin do not appear in the current set of the Standards accessible through the link in section (iii) because such changes are announced with a fixed 6-month implementation period, i.e. they will become effective on the date of the next Bulletin 6 months later.

Following a recommendation from AATB Counsel intended to protect members from accidental premature implementation of announced upcoming changes, or taking announced individual changes out of context as they may be interrelated to third current or previously changed standards, or to third upcoming changes, the practice of linking announced upcoming changes to the respective real redlined standards has been discontinued as of July 31, 2019. Notwithstanding links to third reference sources outside the current Standards, the only link to the Standards a Bulletin provides is the link in section (iii) leading to the current set of the Standards for Tissue Banking in its entirety. Such current set of the Standards contains all changes coming into effect on the date of the Bulletin with any added text showing in blue font and a subscript under the changed standard showing the announcement date, bulletin number, and effective date of the change.

During the time between Bulletin publications, each institutional and individual member can access the current Standards through the web-based AATB Portal Account system here: https://aatbnetwork.force.com/aatb/s/login/  

For additional information please contact Dr. Roman Hitchev, AATB VP & Chief Science Officer – hitchevr@aatb.org