The Department of Anatomic Pathology of the National Clinical Hospital “Timofei Moșneaga” has received state-of-the-art laboratory equipment for cervical cancer screening and prevention. The equipment was bought by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) with financial support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).

“This laboratory will allow us to meet the entire national demand for cervical cancer screenings using the Papanicolaou technique. The Papanicolaou method (also known as smear test - IPN) is much more effective than the one used until today – it only managed 20 tests an hour. There were also complaints from the medical personnel, as they had to work with chemicals that affected their health”, stated Health Minister Silvia Radu during a visit to the Hospital.

Rita Columbia, UNFPA Representative in Moldova, noted that each day one woman in our country is diagnosed with cervical cancer, and more than 1,500 women died in the last five years because of the disease. “We need to inform women that the Papanicolaou test is available and that they should have one once every three years. Moldova is in a good situation, too, as the test is free”, said Rita Columbia, adding that for UNFPA it is important that women’s rights are respected.

Dumitru Brânza, anatomic pathologist at the National Clinical Hospital, said the modern equipment will enable doctors to identify tumors quickly and at an early stage, including gynecological pathologies. While until present it took seven to ten days to make a diagnosis, says the doctor, with the new laboratory three days will be enough. The lab has a capacity to process one thousand tests a day, meaning that a thousand women, aged 25-61 years, will be able to get an accurate diagnosis.

Similar modern equipment was also donated to the Mother & Child Institute’s histopathology laboratory. The total value of the equipment is around $140,000.