Vitrification Workshop at Nidacon in weden
The photos from the vitrification workshop held in Sweden by Nidacon
Thanks to Robin for aquiring these for us.
katmedical's posterous
KAT Medical and CTK Biotech making headway in Ghana.
KAT Laboratory and Medical is always looking to make substantially and beneficent partnerships with suppliers around the world. Recently we struck a deal to distribute the range of rapids from CTK Biotech, based in San Diego USA, in and around Africa, and as of yet have made great headway in Ghana, with us growing the market exponentially.
Here at KAT Medical we are committed to care, and therefore distribute only the finest products from reliable and trusted suppliers, and CTK Biotech is a sterling example of that. Their trusted range of rapids are manufactured to the highest quality and offer accurate and reliable results. Please take a look on our product page here for a complete list of rapids that they offer, and drop us a call or email if your require any further information.
Social Networking in the medical Field South Africa.
As one of the smaller more active diagnostic companies in Southern Africa, with manufactures from all over the world, we believe that leading with innovations is a very important aspect of a successful business. And we have taken to the social networking scene very strong as our first step to make digital interactions with our clients and peers easy and interactive
So with this blog entry I aim to educate our clients and peers on the workings of social networking, and the benefits it can bring to any organisation. Social networking opens up many communication channels, and aids in getting our community (diagnostic medical field) in touch with what innovations and technology advances there are as well as keeping an open forum based communication between client and supplier, strengthening relationships and building partnerships. I am going to list a few of the more popular social networking sites as well as explaining briefly the pros and cons of each. So without further delay...
1. Twitter
Twitter is a simple tool that helps connect businesses more meaningfully with the right audience at the right time.
Businesses and organizations of all shapes and sizes are now able to stay connected to their customers. It can be used to quickly share information with people interested in your company, gather real-time market intelligence and feedback, and build relationships with customers, partners and other people who care about your business. Customers can use Twitter to tell a company (or anyone else) that they’ve had a great—or disappointing—experience with your business, offer product ideas, and learn about great offers they’ve selected to be notified of.
For real world tips and case studies from businesses that have effectively used Twitter to build their brand and connect more personally with their customers, check out Twitter 101 for Businesses, our guide to doing business on Twitter.
2. Facebook
Facebook is not just for college students or for personal use. Facebook is increasingly being used by companies in many creative ways such as to build their brand image, to drive traffic to their website and blogs, to announce or get feedback on new products, manage their online reputation, attract employees, communicate company information, and as a means to intercept potential prospects.
For many companies, this increased company communication is leading to enhanced relationships with current and prospective customers.
Check my next post for more great social networking sites.
Invitation to attend Nidacon's vitrification training seminar.
Kat Medical have been the sole distributors for Nidacon for over 10 years now. Nidacon are a Swedish company manufacturing media primarily for purification and storage of sperm for the ART ( assisted reproductive technology ) market and invited distributors and end-users for training on a new product they have developed for use in vitrification.
On the 19th January 2010 ( after many dramas with the visa application, but that’s subject for another story), I travelled from a hot mine dump strewn Westrand to a very different environment in Gothenburg, on the west Coast of Sweden. Unfortunately there are no direct flights from SA to Sweden so with Turkish Airlines I flew via Istanbuls Ataturk airport, sounds simple!
Initially all went according to plan, no delays, minimum stop-over times and to be frank, partly as I was born in Scotland, the weather was to my liking i.e. in the minuses! Snow really does make a city look pretty, a clean ( albeit deep) covering of snow over every surface which appears to brighten up what in a city is usually appears dull, roofs + roads. This doesn’t last long in Sweden especially in winter , as the sun rises after 9am and fades from 3pm onwards creating a nightmare appearance very early in a South Africans bio-rhythm. None the less after 26 hrs of flying catching trains ( 160km/h plus!)” and buses needed to make good friends with a bed and pillow. I awake with the sun ( what would we do without that big star) and travelled via taxi to Nidacon facilities for the much anticipated vitrification training. I was truly blown away by the friendly, hospitable and professional environment the staff at Nidacon portray and what a facility they have. The building stands 4 storeys high and the production labs are really a sigh to behold- absolutely immaculate!
We started training with lunch and from here on I knew this was going to be enjoyable. A small yet cozy group of distributors and embryologists started arriving from a variety of destinations around the globe including Turkey, Norway, Egypt and China.
The program was eventful and timeous ( in true Swedish fashion i.e. almost to the designated minute ) with a relaxed yet informative variety of speakers sharing their knowledge.
A splendid supper ended the day after a practical demonstration of the vitrification process by Thorir Hardarson from the fertility centre at Gothenburg.
Day 2 began with practical training on the density gradient staining and cryopreservation techniques using Nidacons Pure sperm 40/80, and cryprotect reagents. This was very useful and informative and I would like to thank Paul Holmes , Director of Nidacon and all his wonderful staff for a truly fantastic and educational trip, one day I will return.
Alas my journey home was not so simple. The snow which was falling from the day I arrived was not abating but take off at the designated time resulting in the connecting flight from Istanbul to JHB giving without me. Ah well, I could think of worse places in the world to be stranded than Turkey so I yet again dressed up to resemble a snowman and explored the wonderful city of Istanbul and its many markets.
Eventually ( 2 days later ) I was happily sitting in my seat bound for JHB reflecting on the vast differences and experiences that had occurred in the past 6 days and I have never before been so keen to see a mine dump as I was landing back on Sa soil!
1. Please feel free to drop me a mail here should any of the above mentioned products be of interest to yourselves or your colleagues and I will respond promptly
Pictures to follow soon.
Regards
Robin McCulloch
Vitrification - Nidacon Inovation
Vitrification by definition, according to Wikipedia is the process of converting a substance into a glass, however this does not properly explain what the process of vitrification helps with in assisting in fertility methods be it IVF, ICSI or IUI.
Why Vitrification?
The main problem when freezing cells is the formation of intracellular ice crystals during both cooling and warming, since these ice crystals have detrimental effect on cell survival. Vitrification, the extremely rapid freezing of cellular materials, makes it possible to freeze cells without forming ice crystals within the cells. The result of vitrification is a very homogenous, amorphous crystalline structure.
Why Nidacon Vitrification?
Vitriblast and Thermoblast are based on clinically, well tested standard formulations (lane et al). Numerous publications demonstrate their effectiveness regarding both survival of blastocysts and pregnancy rates.
Follow-up studies have been done on live-births, where a comparison was made with babies from fresh blastocysts, slow-frozen early cleavage stage embryos and vitrified blastocysts.
Since the formulisations have been used considerably, Nidacon can provide you with a very detailed protocol for vitrifying blastocysts, just for your security.
KAT Laboratory is a distributor of the Nidacon Products in South Africa
For more information on Eldon card Blood grouping please
Contact us on 0027 11 472 7300 / sales@katmedical.com
www.katmedical.com
KAT Medical Eldon card system now available
Why is Blood grouping important?
A person’s blood type becomes a crucial matter when a blood transfusion is necessary. If an individual is transfused with the wrong blood type, a reaction that severely compromises the immune system can result. There are different levels at which a mismatched transfusion can occur, from minor to major incompatibility. Minor factors may lead to very minor problems, but a major incompatibility of blood type during a transfusion can be serious.
Blood type is so important during a transfusion that donors giving blood to a blood bank must meet certain requirements. A blood transfusion is closely monitored, often by a haematologist, and the ordering of blood products in the South Africais regulated by the Food and Drug Administration.
In the case of organ transplants, the tissue of the donor organ must match the recipient’s blood type. A mismatch can cause rejection, and therefore, without a positive match, the transplant will not be conducted. Individuals placed on a transplant waiting list have their blood type thoroughly tested before being placed on the list.
What are the different blood groups?
In 1901, scientist Karl Landsteiner reported that blood could be classified into blood 'types'.
There are 4 main blood groups A, B, AB and O, of which group O is the most common (47% of population). The blood type is determined by proteins called antigens found on the surface of red blood cells. If you have the antigen A on the red blood cells then you have got type A blood. When B antigen is present, you have type B blood, when both A and B are present, you have type AB blood. When neither are present you have type O blood.
Another blood group system involves Rhesus factors. The name Rhesus comes from the Rhesus monkeys in which the protein was first discovered. Rhesus factor D, the most important, is found in the blood of 85% of people, they are known as Rhesus positive. The remaining 15% are Rhesus negative. So people can be classified according to both systems, for example AB positive or O negative.
The Rhesus factor is important during pregnancy, a baby's life can be endangered if it inherits a Rhesus positive blood type from its father while the mother is Rhesus negative. This is because the mother can form antibodies against the baby's blood.
Here is a list of the blood types and their frequency in the general population :
| O Rh (D) Positive | 40% |
| O Rh (D) Negative | 7% |
| A Rh (D) Positive | 36% |
| A Rh (D) Negative | 6% |
| B Rh (D) Positive | 7% |
| B Rh (D) Negative | 1% |
| AB Rh (D) Positive | 2.5% |
| AB Rh (D) Negative | 0.5% |
Eldon card Blood grouping test procedure...
| Step 1 Place one drop of water in each field with a pipette. DO NOT LET THE WATER DRY. | ||
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| Step 2 
Disinfect a finger. Let the finger dry. With a lancet make a small puncture. | ||
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| Step 3 Collect one drop of blood for each field on an ELDONstick®. Use a new ELDONstick® for each field. | ||
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| Step 4
Blood drops should fit the base of the ELDONstick®. | ||
| | ||
| Step 5 Place the blood drops into the fields of your ELDONCARD®. Keep the stick in contact with the card. | ||
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| Step 6
Mix blood and reagent with a rotating movement for approx. 15 seconds. Spread mixture to the perimeter of the circles. | ||
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| Step 7 Tilt the ELDONCARD® to a vertical position. After 10 seconds tilt the ELDONCARD® 180° to allow blood to travel across the reaction fields. Wait 10 seconds. Tilt the ELDONCARD® 90° to the left - wait 10 seconds. Tilt the ELDONCARD® 180° to the right - wait 10 seconds. Read and record the result. Let the ELDONCARD® dry (approx. 2 minutes if you use a hairdryer). | ||
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| Step 8
Cover the agglutinations with adhesive foil to prevent deterioration of reactions and to seal possible infectious material. | 
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KAT Laboratory is a distributor of the eldon card system in Southern Africa
For more information on the Eldon Card Blood grouping please
Contact us on 0027 11 472 7300 or sales@katmedical.com
www.katmedical.com
KAT Laboratory and Medical Winning again in Lesotho
with our company been successful in the local chemistry reagents tender for 3 years running now. We at KAT medical believe
that with our committed to care attitude and quick turn around service delivery, we will continue to win this tender for
many years to come.
Queries with regards to the Gauteng Challenge gala
1. A swimmer MUST have a minimum of One current SA Level 2/3 time in their current age group
2. A swimmer may enter an event on a NO TIME
3. A swimmer may enter as many events as they wish provided they have a min ONE SA Level 2/ 3 time
4. Swimmers who are 19 yrs and over have automatic entry to the Gauteng Challenge
5. Swimmers with disability may enter any event, however they will only score points in the following events, i.e - 50m & 100 m events and 200 IM
6. With regard to the FINA ruling for swimsuits, I have clarified the position with SSA and they have advised the following
The Style and Fabric of the costume MUST conform to the FINA ruling
Open back , to knee only
Suggested Make - Arena Power Skin or similar model in another brand available in SA
The above will be adhered to with regard to swimmers competing at the Gauteng Challenge galas
We hope that the above clarifies the position and we look forward to seeing you at the gala!
Join us for club nights Every Tuesday at 18:30
Join us for club nights Every Tuesday at 18:30
