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The Latin American Perfusion Association was established in 2016. At the time, perfusion
meetings in Latin America were often held only once every 3 years. ALAP was formed in
response to the needs of an expanded perfusion population seeking more frequent conference
meetings in a wider range of diverse venues. As the only perfusion society serving the
entire region of Latin America, ALAP supports almost 500 members with a mission to raise the
quality of perfusionists in Latin America by standardizing training and practice. ALAP
engages that mission through a series of learning opportunities including online courses,
high-fidelity simulations, hands-on workshops, webinars, symposia and congresses as well as
an adverse event registry, online library and their professional magazine, Embomba.
A primary goal of organizing ALAP was to provide a robust response to the training and
certification needs of Latin American perfusionists in order to ensure their recognition as
a fundamental component of the cardiovascular surgical team. Over time, ALAP has taken many
necessary steps to align themselves with international standards, both in terms of education
and technological advancement. Within the region, certification as Perfusionista Clinico
Certificado (PCC) is maintained by the Latin American Board of Cardiovascular Perfusion,
organized within the Latin American Perfusion Association, and is available to graduates of
the seven perfusion programs in Latin America that are accredited by the ALAP. Certification
for ALAP perfusionists is comparable to that in the United States, requiring graduation from
an ALAP-approved perfusion program adhering to U.S. CAAHEP standards, followed by passing
grades on each of two exams encompassing knowledge of basic perfusion science and clinical
application. Recertification requires verified attendance at ALAP-approved perfusion
meetings as well as other eligible continuing education within a specified period.
ALAP’s journal, EN BOMBA (EN BOMBA translates to “On pump”) is an international digital
journal dedicated to publishing scientific and opinion articles in the fields of
extracorporeal circulation, cardiovascular surgery, and intensive care. It publishes
articles twice a year, in Spanish and Portuguese, including editorials, original articles,
review articles, clinical cases, opinion pieces, images, its "On the Shoulders of Giants"
series, letters to the editor, and the "En Bomba" test. Full text is publicly available at
revistaenbombaalap.org. More
information is available at revistaenbombaalap.org/index.php/bomba/about.
President – Alileny Pérez Alemán, PCC
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