The General Council of Official Colleges of Biologists (CGCOB) has reiterated that "the recognition of Biology as a healthcare profession must be taken up again at the start of the next legislative term, without starting over from zero," after its approval had been "up in the air" despite the work carried out in the Courts.
The organization recalls that "on 10 September, the Congress of Deputies took into consideration the bill proposal that recognized biologists as healthcare professionals," a milestone linked to the corporation's "historic claim." "It was the step that thousands of biologists who work every day in hospitals, laboratories and healthcare centers had been waiting for for years," it emphasized.
At the same time, the CGCOB warns that "the Directorate General for Professional Regulation continues to push regulations that directly affect our group." In this context, it points out that "in October the Draft Royal Decree for the creation of the new Laboratory Genetics specialty was submitted for the Audience and Public Information process" and that "on 4 November it submitted for the same process the Draft Order for the approval of the training program for the Clinical Laboratory specialty."
As it details, "the Draft Royal Decree on Laboratory Genetics continues without approval despite the fact that its creation was approved by the Ministry itself in June 2025, after years of work by professionals and scientific societies," referring to "a long-awaited specialty, in a very advanced phase, which runs the risk of being stalled." To this is added that, in the current situation, "everything points to a technical standstill until the new Government is formed, whatever its sign may be," the corporation laments, insisting that "what is processed during this transition period must not condition the decisions that remain pending".
Laboratory specialties and care reality
Along these lines, and after criticizing "statements that call into question the need for new laboratory specialties and that claim as their own care fields with a differentiated identity, such as genetics or clinical embryology," the Council maintains that "a narrative should not be installed that ignores the reality of the laboratories in this country and the work of thousands of professionals, for the most part biologists, who sustain them with training and experience that are accredited."
The CGCOB also argues that "Clinical Embryology needs its own specialty", recalling that "one in every eight children is born today in Spain thanks to assisted reproduction, and the professionals who make it possible deserve an official training pathway". It also emphasizes that "Microbiology and Parasitology, Immunology, Laboratory Genetics, Clinical Embryology and Clinical Laboratory are complementary fields, not interchangeable", so, in its view, "to arrange the system is to avoid duplications, not create them".
Finally, after stressing that "patient safety is the criterion that should guide any decision", and that "competence is guaranteed with specific and sufficient training for each activity", the CGCOB concludes by stating "that no qualified professional should be left without a recognition path".