Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Abbott Donates Diagnostic Instruments As Part of the 'Labs Are Vital' Initiative

WASHINGTON -- Abbott today announced the recipients of the Labs Are Vital^TM instrument donation program today at the American Association of Clinical Chemistry (AACC) Annual Meeting.

Recipients were Northern Michigan University, Marquette Mich.; University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Nev.; University of Vermont, Burlington, Vt., Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas, Reading Area Community College, Reading, Penn., Southeastern Community College, Whiteville, N.C.; and Western Technical College, LaCrosse, Wis.

Donated instruments included Abbott's AxSYM® automated immunoassay analyzer, CELL-DYN® hematology instruments and the i-STAT® hand-held point-of-care system.

To date, Abbott has donated more than $3 million in instruments, reagents and service to accredited clinical laboratory education programs across the country. Fifty educational programs, impacting 3,000 students in 29 states within the U.S., received state-of-the-art equipment including immunoassay analyzers, hematology systems, and handheld point-of-care diagnostic instruments.


About Labs Are Vital^TM

"Labs Are Vital^TM" is a multi-pronged, multi-year global education and awareness initiative designed to highlight the critical role that laboratory professionals play in health care and to address the issues facing laboratories today. The program -- which includes a public awareness campaign, an instrument donation program and a variety of web-based resources for laboratory professionals -- focuses attention on the life-saving work medical laboratory scientists provide in diagnosing disease and improving health outcomes. For more information on the "Labs are Vital^TM" program, please visit www.labsarevital.com .

The AACC Annual Meeting is a global meeting that attracts nearly 20,000 attendees from more than 100 countries.


About Abbott's Diagnostics Businesses

Abbott is a global leader in in vitro diagnostics and offers a broad range of innovative instrument systems and tests for hospitals, reference labs, molecular labs, blood banks, physician offices and clinics. With more than 65,000 institutional customers in more than 100 countries, Abbott's diagnostic products offer customers automation, convenience, bedside testing, cost effectiveness and flexibility. Abbott has helped transform the practice of medical diagnosis from an art to a science through the company's commitment to improving patient care and lowering costs. The history of Abbott is filled with examples of first-of-a-kind diagnostic products and significant technological and research advancements.


About Abbott

Abbott is a global, broad-based health care company devoted to the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of pharmaceuticals and medical products, including nutritionals, devices and diagnostics. The company employs 68,000 people and markets its products in more than 130 countries.


Source: Abbott