TORONTO, Ontario--April 16th, 2002--International Medical Laboratory Week, 14-20 April 2002, is a time to honor the more than 330,000 medical laboratory technologists, technicians and other laboratory professionals across North America who perform and interpret the medical laboratory tests that help save lives and keep people healthy. "We are proud of the work we do," said Clifford Hatcher, President of the Trillium Chapter of the Clinical Laboratory Management Association (CLMA). “Results of laboratory tests often identify the presence of disease in its earliest stages, when the possibilities of a cure are greatest and when treatment is least costly.”

Medical laboratory professionals are the third largest group of health care professionals after physicians and nurses and yet many people don’t know what they do. Accurate testing performed by qualified medical laboratory professionals is critical in order to ensure people receive high quality health care. In fact, more than 70% of all the important health care decisions affecting a patient’s life involve information from a laboratory or pathology test. Test information helps predict and diagnose disease, determine the best course of treatment, and monitor the effectiveness of therapy. Laboratory testing impacts virtually every aspect of patient care in hospitals, in long-term care facilities and in the community.

“Annually, MDS people provide more than 74 million tests for more than 21,000 health care providers and 17 million patients. Everything we do on a day-to-day basis across our company helps people.” says Alan D. Torrie, President and Chief Executive Officer MDS Diagnostic Services. “It’s why MDS exists, to make a distinctive contribution to people’s health”

Medical technologists and technicians perform thousands of different kinds of laboratory tests on body fluids, tissues, cells, DNA etc. Methods range from culture to chemical analysis to microscopic examination, to DNA analysis or mass spectrometry using MDS SciexTM instrumentation. Even the more common tests use highly sophisticated analyzers and computer modeling.

Some of these medical laboratory tests are used to determine genetic predisposition to disease and to treatment; diagnose disease such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, thyroid, hepatitis and HIV; to identify suitable antibiotics to treat infections; to match blood for transfusion and tissues for transplant; and to monitor treatment for a wide variety of ailments including kidney dialysis, blood thinners, thyroid therapy, depression, and drug therapy. By combining innovation, specialized expertise and a dedication to excellence, medical laboratory professionals are leaders in the use of science and technology to improve health.

The Trillium Chapter of the Clinical Laboratory Management Association (CLMA) and MDS Inc (NYSE: MDZ; TSE: MDS), an international health and life sciences company, will celebrate International Medical Technology Week by hosting a reception at the Ontario legislature on 17th of April 2002. Members of the Ontario Provincial Parliament, government officials, the media and representatives of the medical laboratory community are expected to attend.

About the Clinical Laboratory Management Association The Clinical Laboratory Management Association (CLMA) is an international organization with more than 6,300 members throughout Canada, the United States and abroad. The Trillium Chapter, based in Ontario, is one of two Canadian Chapters of the CLMA. Members are responsible for the provision of clinical laboratory services for clinicians and patients in hospitals and health-care networks, in the community and in long term care organizations. Many work for organizations that provide the specialized expertise, instrumentation, information systems and materials needed for patient service provision. CLMA members are managers, directors, executives, educators and experts. They include technologists, technicians, scientists, and physicians. Through conferences, seminars, publications, and research, CLMA offers opportunities for the educational advancement needed to create skilled managers in clinical laboratory medicine.

About MDS Inc. As a part of MDS Inc., MDS Diagnostic Services is a leading provider of diagnostic laboratory services in North America. MDS Inc. (NYSE: MDZ; TSE: MDS) is an international health and life sciences company. The MDS focus is on using science to advance health. It does this by providing: laboratory testing, imaging agents for nuclear medicine testing, sterilization systems for medical and consumer products, research services to speed discovery and development of new drugs, therapy systems for planning and delivery of cancer treatment, analytical instruments to assist in the development of new drugs, and medical/surgical supplies. MDS employs more than 10,000 highly skilled people at its global operations on five continents. Detailed information about the company is available at the MDS Web site at www.mdsintl.com or by calling 1- 888-MDS-7222, 24 hours a day.

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