WATER TESTING LABORATORY

1. What is the PD 856?

Presidential Decree 856: Code on Sanitation of the Philippines

2. What is AO 31 S. 1979?
Requirements for the accreditation of water analysis laboratories

3. What are the aspects in the accreditation of water testing?

- Basic Requirements
- Personnel
- Physical Plant
- Laboratory Apparatus, Materials, Reagents
- Minimum required reference for each laboratory

4. Who should own a water testing laboratory?

- Any person, firm, or corporation desiring to establish or operate and maintain a water analysis
laboratory

5. When is inspection of a water testing laboratory?

- Within 60 days of receipt of application for accreditation

6. Describe the head of water testing laboratory.

- A licensed sanitary engineer; if water analysis laboratory is attached to a licensed clinical laboratory,
then the clinical pathologist licensed to supervise the clinical laboratory concurrently also supervises the
water analysis laboratory

7. How many testing laboratory may be handled or supervised?

- Up to three

8. Describe the qualification of assistance.

- Should be a registered pharmacist, medical technologist, or chemist. One with a baccalaureate degree in
biology may undertake biological analysis of water under the supervision of a registered professional.
Technical assistants must have been trained and must have at least one year experience in the procedures
involved in the different aspects of water analysis. A technical assistant may supervise not more than two
skilled workers.

9. Describe the physical area of water testing laboratory.

(a) Work rooms must be housed in a permanent building constructed of strong materials, preferably
concrete or semi-concrete. The floor must be concrete or tiled or linoleum-finished. It must also have
adequate drainage.

(b) Work rooms should be well-ventilated with adequate provisions for either natural or artificial lighting.

(c) The working space of the laboratory must correlate with the volume and type of work it intends to do
and periods of peak workload, and must consider the equipment and number of personnel involved.
 Working space requirements must include sufficient bench-top area for processing samples, storage
space for media, glasswares and portable equipment, and an adequate appropriate area for cleaning
glasswares and sterilizing materials. The bench-top working area needed for processing samples should be
at least 1.20-1.80 m of continuous area per analyst. The working area for a specific service should be at
least 20 sq. meters. A hood for chemical, radiological and bacteriological units must be provided. The
analytical balance should be on a level and firm stand preferably cement-based. The work space of each
unit or service must be separate and adequate.

(d) A bench-height of 90 centimeters provides convenience for the worker who may choose to stand or sit
while performing various tasks. Laboratory benches 75 centimeters high should also be provided for other
types of work. The laboratory table or top working areas should be level.

(e) All work rooms should have adequate running water not stored water. Shower facilities should be
available.

(f) Adequate physical provisions for the safety of the laboratory personnel must be provided considering
exposure to chemicals, inflammable reagents, fires, etc. All provisions of the safety and building code
should be complied with.

ORGAN DONATION ACT OF 1991

1. What is RA 7170?
- "Organ Donation Act of 1991": AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE LEGACY OR DONATION OF ALL OR PART OF
A HUMAN BODY AFTER DEATH FOR SPECIFIED PURPOSES

2. Define the following:

a. Organ Bank Storage Facility: a facility licensed, accredited or approved under the law for storage of
human bodies or parts thereof
b. Decedent: a deceased individual, and includes a still-born infant or fetus.
c. Testator: an individual who makes a legacy of all or part of his body.
d. Donor: an individual authorized under this Act to donate all or part of the body of a decedent.

3. What are the transplantable organs?

- transplantable organs, tissues, eyes, bones, arteries, blood, other fluids and other portions of the human
body

4. Who declares that the person is dead?

- the attending physician and another consulting physician

5. Who may execute a legacy?

- Any individual

6. What are the qualifications of persons who may execute a legacy?

- At least eighteen (18) years of age and of sound mind
7. Who may become a legatee?
- Any hospital, physician or surgeon - For medical or dental education, research, advancement of medical
or dental science, therapy or transplantation;
- Any accredited medical or dental school, college or university - For education, research, advancement of
medical or dental science, or therapy;
- Any organ bank storage facility - For medical or dental education, research, therapy, or transplantation;
and
- Any specified individual - For therapy or transplantation needed by him.

8. What is the manner of executing a legacy?

- Legacy of all or part of the human body may be made by will. The legacy becomes effective upon the
death of the testator without waiting for probate of the will. If the will is not probated, or if it is declared
invalid for testamentary purposes, the legacy, to the extent that it was executed in good faith, is
nevertheless valid and effective.

- A legacy of all or part of the human body may also be made in any document other than a will. The
legacy becomes effective upon death of the testator and shall be respected by and binding upon his
executor or administrator, heirs, assigns, successors-in-interest and all members of the family. The
document, which may be a card or any paper designed to be carried on a person, must be signed by the
testator in the presence of two witnesses who must sign the document in his presence. If the testator
cannot sign, the document may be signed for him at his discretion and in his presence, in the presence of
two witnesses who must, likewise, sign the document in the presence of the testator. Delivery of the
document of legacy during the testator's lifetime is not necessary to make the legacy valid.

- The legacy may be made to a specified legatee or without specifying a legatee. If the legacy is made to a
specified legatee who is not available at the time and place of the testator's death, the attending
physician or surgeon, in the absence of any expressed indication that the testator desired otherwise, may
accept the legacy as legatee. If the legacy does not specify a legatee, the legacy may be accepted by the
attending physician or surgeon as legatee upon or following the testator's death. The physician who
becomes a legatee under this subsection shall not participate in the procedures for removing or
transplanting a part or parts of the body of the decedent.

- The testator may designate in his will, card or other document, the surgeon or physician who will carry
out the appropriate procedures. In the absence of a designation, or if the designee is not available, the
legatee or other persons authorized to accept the legacy may authorize any surgeon or physician for the
purpose

9. Who is authorized to remove a transplantable organ?

- Only authorized medical practitioners in a hospital shall remove and/or transplant any organ which is
authorized to be removed and/or transplanted

10. What organizations are allowed to engage in information drive regarding benefits of transplantation?
- the Department of Health, in cooperation with institutions, such as the National Kidney Institute, civic
and non-government health organizations and other health related agencies, involved in the donation and
transplantation of human organs
NEW BORN SCREENING ACT OF 2004

1. What is RA 9288?
- "Newborn Screening Act of 2004.": AN ACT PROMULGATING A COMPREHENSIVE POLICY AND A
NATIONAL SYSTEM FOR ENSURING NEWBORN SCREENING

2. What is Newborn Screening?

- the process of collecting a few drops of blood from the newborn onto an appropriate collection card and
performing biochemical testing for determining if the newborn has a heritable condition.

3. What are the metabolic disorders?

- congenital hypothyroidism (CH), congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), phenylketonuria (PKU), glucose-
6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency, galactosemia (GAL) and maple syrup urine disease
(MSUD)

4. Define:
a. NIH: National Institute of Health
b. Newborn: a child from the time of complete delivery to 30 days old.
c. Newborn screening center: a facility equipped with a newborn screening laboratory that
complies with the standards established by the NIH and provides all required laboratory tests
and recall/follow-up programs for newborns with heritable conditions.

5. When is Newborn Screening performed?

- Newborn screening shall be performed after twenty-four (24) hours of life but not later than three (3)
days from complete delivery of the newborn. A newborn that must be placed in intensive care in order to
ensure survival may be exempted from the 3-day requirement but must be tested by seven (7) days of
age. It shall be the joint responsibility of the parent(s) and the practitioner or other person delivering the
newborn to ensure that newborn screening is performed. An appropriate informational brochure for
parents to assist in fulfilling this responsibility shall be made available by the Department of Health and
shall be distributed to all health institutions and made available to any health practitioner requesting it for
appropriate distribution.

6. When is Newborn screening be refused?

- a parent or legal guardian may refuse testing on the grounds of religious beliefs, but shall acknowledge
in writing their understanding that refusal for testing places their newborn at risk for undiagnosed
heritable conditions. A copy of this refusal documentation shall be made part of the newborn's medical
record and refusal shall be indicated in the national newborn screening database.

7. What is the specimen for newborn screening?

- a few drops of blood

8. Who may perform Newborn Testing?

- The blood sample for NBS may be collected by any of the following: physician, nurse, medical
technologist or trained midwife.
9. What are the possible treatments for metabolic disorders?
- prompt, appropriate and adequate medicine, medical, and surgical management or dietary prescription
to a newborn for purposes of treating or mitigating the adverse health consequences of the heritable
condition.

10. What may require institutions to provide Newborn Screening?

- The DOH and the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PHIC) shall require health institutions to
provide newborn screening services as a condition for licensure or accreditation

11. Who are the members of the advisory committee of Newborn Screening?
- The Committee shall be composed of eight (8) members, including the Secretary of Health who shall act
as Chairman. The other members of the Committee shall be as follows: (i) the Executive Director of the
NIH, who shall act as Vice Chairperson; (ii) an Undersecretary of the DILG; (iii) the Executive Director of
the Council for the Welfare of Children (iv) the Director of the Newborn Screening Reference Center; and
(v) three (3) representatives appointed by the Secretary of Health who shall be a pediatrician,
obstetrician, endocrinologist, family physician, nurse or midwife, from either the public or private sector.