Institute of Hematology responds after suspicion of receiving "commission" from Bio-Rad

Professor Nguyen Anh Tri, Director of the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion, said that the Institute has been using equipment and products from Bio-Rad Company continuously for the past 10 years (since 2005). The products are mostly for blood screening such as biological chemicals and blood filtration equipment. The Institute only buys biological chemicals, not drugs for treatment.

Speaking to the press, Mr. Tri said that after the Ministry of Health announced that the US-based Bio-Rad Company had paid a “commission” of 2.2 million USD to Vietnamese health officials, when the Ministry of Health requested the units to report, the Institute fully responded to the requests. The Institute has conducted an examination of the bidding documents and related documents to submit to the Ministry of Health.

Professor Nguyen Anh Tri analyzes Bio-Rad Company's products. (Photo: PV/Vietnam+)

“When the Ministry of Health directed me to work with the departments, offices, and units related to the Institute’s bidding, no unit received commission from Bio-Rad. The Institute has never directly purchased products from Bio-Rad. From 2005 to 2009, there were many bidding projects and the Institute bought Bio products from other companies. The Institute bought products from 10 companies within 10 years. These companies are allowed to do business in the Vietnamese market,” Mr. Tri emphasized.

In 10 years, the total amount of money that the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion spent on Bio-Rad products was 70 billion 100 million VND. During this time, the Institute also purchased chemicals from many different companies, not just Bio-Rad. In 2005, the money spent on Bio-Rad chemicals accounted for 20% of the total amount spent on chemicals, and in 2010, it accounted for 33%.

According to the Director of the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion, the information reported in the press said that 8 units used Bio-Rad products, but there were certainly more. The capital to buy Bio products came from the project to build blood transfusion centers nationwide, funded by the World Bank from 2003-2009. The second source was from the Institute's budget (revolving funds) and there was a very small amount of capital from the HIV prevention project for blood transfusion safety.

On average, over the past 10 years, the Institute's budget for purchasing chemicals and products from Bio-Rad only accounts for 7.8% of the Institute's total purchase of biological chemicals.

According to Mr. Tri, the Institute has no plans to use Vio-Rad products in the near future. The reason is not related to the bribery information but because there is automatic chemiluminescence screening technology, because this technology is better, more sensitive than Eliza technology, and the results are also faster. In addition, with the number of machines imported from Bio-Rad, according to regulations, it has reached 10 years, the depreciation period has expired, so the Institute will not use them in the near future.

Professor Nguyen Anh Tri affirmed that over the past 10 years, 13 international and domestic audit teams and 3 inspection teams from the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Construction, and Government Inspectorate have come to inspect the Institute. The inspection results showed that the Institute has complied with all regulations./.

According to VNA