i3S to start performing tests

Never in recent times has anything demanded such a global effort.

As you know, i3S closed down in mid-March, in compliance with governmental directives, keeping only absolutely essential services running. With everyone at home, we have been trying our best to rally the spirit, good will, and skills of our members by working together, remotely. From the very beginning, the institute got in touch with our partners – in particular associate hospitals, handling with this crisis in the frontlines – and offered our time, equipment, gear and knowledge to their benefit and, ultimately, to ours. After a few days of permanent contacts, our active contribution was requested late last week and we were ready to answer the call. A task force, comprised of six i3S researchers, has mobilized the necessary resources to meet the real needs of hospitals, as main health care providers, and i3S has begun operating to fulfill these demands. This task force are coordinating the implementation of SARS-CoV-2 testing procedures in our facilities and, once all the material is gathered and necessary protocols are in place, we’ll be in conditions to start performing tests, early next week.

Our cooperation with hospitals and official health agencies is set to begin slowly, with about 100 to 150 tests per day, but the capacity is expected to increase, as soon as our teams of 100+ voluntaries are able to streamline the protocols.
A collaborative operation at its core, all this work is being developed together with Hospital de São João’s Diagnosis Center, as well as with Ipatimup Diagnósticos and CGPP, which both are taking on testing control and quality. At the same time, we are working alongside the two major hospitals in Porto – Hospital de São João and Hospital de Santo António – in order to aid them in samples preparation. By the end of this week, we expect to purvey them with up to 1500 sample vials, to which end we’ve been collecting plastic materials and reagents from every i3S lab with a surplus. i3S and all its members - from the Board of Directors, labs and core facilities all the way to support and service staff and transversal units – are a united front and committed to doing their part in this monumental task. Together.