ILAC – WADA Partnership

 

ILAC and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) have a long-standing relationship.

Accreditation of anti-doping laboratories by an ILAC MRA signatory is a pre-requisite for WADA accreditation.ILAC and WADA work together to formally recognise the technical competence of the anti-doping laboratories and this then leads to community confidence in laboratory outputs which are measurement results that are fit for their intended use.  Our complementary roles are essential in the fight against drugs in sport.

 

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)

The MoU provides useful background information on the nature and context of the WADA/ILAC cooperation and should be consulted in associated with the Communiqués below.

The WADA-ILAC Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was initially signed on the 15 November 2007 at the World Conference on Doping in Sport held in Madrid, Spain. The WADA-ILAC MoU was re-signed on 25 November 2021.

WADA-ILAC Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) 2021

 

Communiqués

This is the Third ILAC-WADA Communiqué 2021 issued with respect to the ILAC-WADA cooperation regarding the WADA anti-doping laboratories. The Communique is for the attention of all accreditation bodies involved in the accreditation of WADA anti-doing laboratories in accordance with ISO/IEC 17025.

The ILAC Second Communication 2009 was issued with respect to the WADA/ILAC cooperation regarding anti-doping laboratories and is for the attention of all accreditation bodies involved in the accreditation of laboratories also accredited by WADA.

The ILAC First Communication 2004 was released during the early stages of the WADA/ILAC cooperation.

 

ILAC-WADA Liaison Group

The ILAC-WADA Liaison Group supports the liaison between ILAC and WADA (as described in the WADA-ILAC MoU) through identifying and seeking to harmonise relevant accreditation practices relating to anti-doping laboratories, at a global level.

 

International Standard for Laboratories (ISL)

ILAC and WADA’s complementary roles and activities provide a sound and robust framework for effective laboratory assessments based on ISO/IEC 17025 and the WADA International standard for laboratories (ISL). These provide, the necessary requirements from both the technical and management systems perspectives.

One of the WADA’s initiatives is to train expert assessors in the application of the ISL. This facilitates a holistic approach to our on-site assessment and thereby minimising duplication for the laboratories.  Also the improved communication between the accreditation bodies and WADA on assessment issues gives mutual confidence that all the laboratory requirements are being satisfied.

Information on the WADA ISL, trained assessors and accredited laboratories are available from the Science & Medical section of the WADA website.

 

Testimonial

“Accreditation plays a pivotal role in supporting The World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) mandate to monitor compliance to the WADA International Standard for Laboratories (ISL) in the fight against doping in sport.

“Laboratories that wish to perform anti-doping analyses of sport samples under the World Anti-Doping Code must achieve and maintain accreditation from WADA. Collaboration between WADA and ILAC ensure that assessment of laboratories can be carried out to the WADA ISL standard and ISO/IEC 17025 concurrently. This ensures that stakeholders, including athletes, sport organizations, governments and the general public can trust the results from accredited laboratories.”

– Dr. Olivier Rabin, WADA Senior Executive Director, Sciences and International Partnerships

 

WADA Contact Details
Tel: 1 514 904 9232
Fax: 1 514 904 8755
Email: info@wada-ama.org