[Activity of ISO/TC212, clinical laboratory testing and in vitro diagnostic test systems]

ISO is the International Organization for Standardization, which is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies from 130 countries, one from each country. ISO is a non-governmental organization established in 1947. ISO/TC212, Clinical laboratory testing and in vitro diagnostic test systems was newly established in 1995, consisting of 86 P-members and 12 O-members. ISO/TC212 secretariat is the American National Standards Institute, and NCCLS carries out its secretarial activity. On behalf of the Japanese Industrial Standards Committee (JISC), the Japanese Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (JCCLS) serves as the secretariat for the ISO/TC212 National Technical Advisory Group. Three working groups are in the process of preparing the Draft International Standards (DIS) among 9 work items. The next plenary session of ISO/TC212 will be held on May 19-21, 1999 in Tokyo, Japan.