The Guild of Medical Laboratory Directors (GMLD) started in 1984 as Association of Private Medical Laboratory Professionals in South-Western Nigeria and Association of Private Practice Laboratory Scientist in Northern Nigeria. This later metamorphosed into the “GUILD OF MEDICAL LABORATORY DIRECTORS (GMLD)” in 1998 under the leadership of Dr. Andy Alatise.

It is worthy to note that the first private Medical Laboratory in Nigeria was founded in the early 1970s in Ibadan called ‘City Laboratory’ with the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN) PML No 001.

Milestones achieved so far by GMLD include

  • Improved membership drive which has culminated in membership increase from 98 during inauguration of GMLD to over 2,000 as at 2013
  • Established collaborations with different regulatory bodies such as: MLSCN, PHERMC, LSBTS, NBTS, LSHFMAA etc to the extent that no private laboratory is established in the FCT without endorsement by the GMLD
  • Launched the Blood Bank Society of Nigeria to bring about quality in Blood Transfusion Service in Nigeria
  • Start-up induction training for newly employed Medical Laboratory Scientist
  • Adoption of Laboratory Quality Management System (LQMS) as a standard for private Laboratories in Nigeria.