27 January 2022

The leading authority for the identification of medical products of human origin, ICCBBA, and the GMDN Agency have renewed their MoU (memorandum of understanding).

Our collaboration dates back to 2013 when the first MoU was agreed and will continue the long-standing collaborative work of terminology specifically related to medical devices using tissue of human origin.

This continues to benefit stakeholders by providing:

• More comprehensive and harmonized clinical descriptions

• Greater utility and access to both terminologies

The MoU has benefited users of ISBT 128 and the GMDN in promoting harmonised terminology for medical devices containing medical products of human origin. This harmonisation covers the needs of regulators, the medical device industry and healthcare professionals. The arrangement has helped to remove any inconsistency in the description of these complex and rapidly developing technologies.

Karen Moniz, Technical Director at ICCBBA, said of the MoU, “This agreement continues to promote closer alignment of the terminology used for human derived tissue described in the GMDN and ISBT128 which benefits all our stakeholders”.

Mark Wasmuth, CEO of the GMDN Agency, added “the MoU supports the use of GMDN and ISBT128 as primary standards for international harmonization of healthcare terminology”.