Explore the 2027 EQA catalogue

About us

Quality assured, sample to interpretation. A not-for-profit community interest company providing external quality assessment to the human genomic testing community since 1998.

Vision and mission

Vision

We envision a world where every patient, everywhere receives the correct genomic test result, so that every diagnosis, every treatment decision and every family’s future is guided by accuracy, confidence and care.

Mission

EMQN strengthens global trust in genomic laboratories to deliver results that patients and clinicians can rely on.

Global assessment team

34 Countries covered by our global assessor network

Countries shown on the map: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Macedonia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States of America.

Our history

  • 1997

    Successful pilot of the Huntington disease EQA scheme.

  • 1999 to 2002

    EMQN was established in Manchester, UK with grant funding from the European Commission (Framework IV programme)

  • 2002 to 2021

    Supported by subscriptions from EQA scheme participants. Scope broadened to include:

    • Molecular genetics
    • Molecular pathology
    • Pharmacogenetics
    • Virology
    • Non-invasive prenatal testing
    • Postnatal testing
    • Technique-specific EQA schemes, for example Next Generation Sequencing (NGS)

     

  • 2021

    Became an independent community interest company, EMQN CIC.

  • 2025

    Moved to new purpose-built facilities in Salford, Manchester

  • 2026

    Scope broadened to include Newborn screening, Methylation signature testing, and Haematology-oncology

     

Accreditation and quality

As part of our ongoing commitment to providing a high-quality service to all our members, EMQN CIC is a UKAS accredited proficiency testing provider (No. 4367).

This accreditation covers all of our EQA schemes unless explicitly stated in our scheme catalogue.

Please follow these links to view our UKAS certificate and the scope as described in our UKAS schedule of accreditation.

EMQN is committed to providing a high quality and timely service which takes the needs and requirements of our members into account. You can download our Quality Policy here.

Organisation

Our Company Board, Scientific and Strategic Advisory Board (SSAB), and the Executive team in Manchester.

Sustainability

EMQN is dedicated to following all relevant UN sustainability goals.

Goal 3

Good health and well-being

EMQN is dedicated to providing the most accurate diagnostic test result possible for patients, by offering quality assurance tools and knowledge to the human molecular pathology and genetics testing community. Of the 1300 laboratories that we assessed last year, 98% fully complied with our stringent guidelines. We assisted the remaining 2% to improve their testing and reporting services to provide the best possible service to their patients.

Goal 4

Quality education

EMQN is committed to providing a service that ensures inclusive and equitable quality education and learning opportunities for the human molecular pathology and genetics testing community. Our EQAs provide individual bespoke feedback to every customer, along with detailed and comprehensive summaries of each scheme. In 2023, we published three new best practice guidelines and organised eight educational webinars to support this goal.

Goal 5

Gender equality

EMQN aims to create a fair, inclusive and gender-equitable workplace, through equal opportunities hiring and regular reviews. 65% of our staff are female, including 60% in management positions, 50% of our Company Board and 53% of our Scientific and Strategic Advisory Board.

Goal 10

Reduced inequalities

EMQN is committed to providing quality healthcare for all, providing special discounted rates to countries in emerging and developing economies. In 2023, we supported 32 organisations in 17 different countries to access our services.

Goal 12

Responsible consumption and production

EMQN makes every effort to reduce its environmental impact and improve its processes: reducing the number of EQA distributions and combining orders into single distributions to reduce packaging, using smart shipping solutions, switching to predominantly electronic documentation and record keeping to reduce paper, and increasing the use of video conferencing while selecting meeting venues with good public transport links to reduce unnecessary travel.

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