Ensuring Quality and Safety in Chile

Carlos Ferrari Rebolledo, MSc, MT

Carlos Ferrari Rebolledo, MSc, MT, is head of the laboratory at VidaCel in Chile, where he oversees operations for the country’s first umbilical cord blood and perinatal tissue bank accredited by AABB. He has extensive experience in transfusion medicine and cellular therapies across both public and private health sectors, with expertise in hematopoietic stem cell processing, cryopreservation and molecular diagnostics.

Ferrari began his career at the Clinical Hospital of the University of Chile and joined VidaCel in 2014 as laboratory coordinator before becoming laboratory head in 2018. He played a key role in the facility’s initial accreditation and ongoing reaccreditation. He also serves as co-director of AABB’s Spanish Language Subsection and as an adjunct professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso, where he teaches cellular therapies and regenerative medicine.

Ferrari spoke to AABB News about his career path, the challenges of achieving AABB accreditation and the evolving landscape of cellular therapies in Chile.

AABB NEWS: What first drew you to transfusion medicine and cellular therapies, and how did that interest shape your career path?

Ferrari: My interest began during my internship at the Blood Bank of the Chilean National Police (DIPRECA) Hospital, where I had the opportunity to witness a stem cell collection for a hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT). That moment sparked a deep professional curiosity in me; realizing that cryopreservation was a relatively unexplored area at the undergraduate level, I dedicated entire nights to independently research methods and protocols. That curiosity quickly transformed into a professional goal and fate led me to my first job opportunity at the cell therapy laboratory of the University of Chile, which solidified my professional path.