Committee for the Characterization of Medical Laboratories Holds Its Seventeenth Meeting

Committee for the Characterization of Medical Laboratories Holds Its Seventeenth Meeting

The Committee for the Characterization of Medical Laboratories held its seventeenth meeting in person at the headquarters of the institution and virtually via Microsoft Teams, with the participation of representatives from seven relevant entities. The meeting was held as part of the efforts of the Palestinian Standards and Metrology Institution (PSMI) to develop and update the Palestinian standards system in line with the latest international standards and to meet the needs of various sectors.

The Committee Rapporteur, Dr. Hiba Zabadi, explained that the committee began its work by following up on the implementation of the decisions of the previous meeting and reviewing the committee’s work plan for 2026, before moving on to discuss the agenda items:

1. Implementation of the decisions of the previous meeting.
2. The Committee’s work plan for 2026.
3. New Draft Palestinian Standard PSM 3717 Part 1 for biotechnology — massively parallel sequencing — Part 1: DNA and library preparation.
4. New Draft Palestinian Standard PSM 3717 Part 2 for biotechnology — massively parallel sequencing — Part 2: Assessment of sequencing data quality.
5. New Draft Palestinian Standard PSM 3717 Part 3 for biotechnology — massively parallel sequencing — Part 3: General requirements and guidelines for metagenomics.
6. Update project PSM 3907 for glass — resistance to the effect of a boiling aqueous solution of mixed alkalis — test method and classification.
7. Update project PSM 3908 for laboratory glassware — thermal shock and thermal-shock endurance — test methods.
8. Update project PSM 3909 for laboratory glassware — graduated pipettes.
9. Update project PSM 3911 for laboratory glassware — pipettes — colour coding.
10. Review of Palestinian Standard PS 3912:2021 for long-stem solid-shank thermometers for general purposes.
11. Review of Palestinian Standard PS 3918:2021 for glass-to-glass sealing — strain measurement.
12. Review of Palestinian Standard PS 3946:2021 for medical laboratories — practical guidance for the estimation of measurement uncertainty.
13. Review of Palestinian Standard PS 3947:2021 for medical laboratory diagnostic devices — clinical performance studies using human specimens — good study practice.
14. Review of Palestinian Standard PS 3948:2021 for medical laboratory diagnostic devices — requirements for international harmonization protocols using human specimens to establish metrological traceability values for calibrators with assigned values.
15. Update project PSM 3949-1:2021 for in vitro diagnostic medical devices — multiplex molecular testing of nucleic acids — Part 1: Terminology and general requirements for the assessment of nucleic acid quality.
16. Review of Palestinian Standard PS 3951:2021 for nanotechnology — endotoxin testing of nanoscale samples for laboratory systems — Limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL) test.
17. New Draft Palestinian Standard PSM 4323 for laboratory glassware — pycnometers.
18. The Committee’s eighteenth meeting.

She added that the committee discussed nine new and updated draft Palestinian standards, four of which were new projects, and decided to submit them to the Board of Directors for adoption as new and updated Palestinian standards.

The committee also completed the review of six Palestinian standards and recommended the cancellation of one of them due to the withdrawal of its reference without an alternative, while referring the remaining five for updating.

The projects covered topics related to biotechnology and laboratory glassware. The review of existing standards also covered subjects related to thermometers, medical laboratory diagnostic devices, and nanotechnology.

The meeting comes as part of the Palestinian Standards and Metrology Institution’s ongoing efforts to develop and update Palestinian standards across various sectors, in line with scientific and technological developments, contributing to the protection of public health and enhancing the efficiency of the quality infrastructure in Palestine