ABMDR’s operating license renewed after EFI inspection
Los Angeles — The European Federation for Immunogenetics (EFI) renewed the operating license of the HLA-typing Lab of the Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry (ABMDR).
The ABMDR Lab, located in Yerevan, has been accredited and licensed by EFI since 2006. The EFI license can be renewed every two years. “EFI accreditation is a key factor in our work, as it allows us to cooperate with national registries across the globe and hence save lives,” said ABMDR Executive Director Dr. Sevak Avagyan.
The license of the ABMDR HLA-typing Lab was renewed following a thorough inspection, which the facility passed with flying colors. The inspection was conducted on April 4, 2025, by EFI inspectors Dr. Ron Loewenthal of Israel and Dr. Dan Adrian Luscalov of Romania.
Doctors Loewenthal and Luscalov inspected the lab’s methodologies and protocols, technical documents, procedures pertaining to HLA-typing for patients as well as related and unrelated donors, and research with regard to connections between certain HLA antigens and a wide range of medical conditions. The inspectors also examined the integrity and accuracy of all medical equipment and instruments utilized at the lab.
Present during the inspection were ABMDR President Dr. Frieda Jordan, Executive Director Dr. Sevak Avagyan, Medical Director Dr. Mihran Nazaretyan, Lab Supervisor Armine Hyusyan, and Database Manager Alina Sirunyan, among other staff members.
The ABMDR HLA-typing Lab is the only one of its type in the whole of the Caucasus, and the only such facility in the region to be accredited by EFI.
“My colleagues and I couldn’t be happier about the results of our lab’s inspection,” Dr. Jordan said and added, “EFI’s renewal of our operating license is a vitally important achievement for not only the lab itself, but also our pan-national registry and the worldwide Armenian community as a whole.”
About the Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry: Established in 1999, ABMDR, a nonprofit organization, helps Armenians and non-Armenians worldwide survive life-threatening blood-related illnesses by recruiting and matching donors to those requiring bone marrow stem cell transplants. To date, the registry has recruited over 33,500 donors in 32 countries across four continents, identified over 9,000 patients, and facilitated 44 bone marrow transplants. For more information, call (323) 663-3609 or visit abmdr.am.
