Partnership between cystic fibrosis centres in Europe: The Twinning Project.

Abstract

Significant disparities in cystic fibrosis (CF) care persist across Europe. To address these inequalities, the European CF Society (ECFS) has launched the Twinning Project in collaboration with CF Europe. The project promotes structured partnerships between well-established and developing CF centres. Mentor centres from the ECFS Clinical Trials Network (ECFS-CTN) are paired with mentee centres, primarily from Eastern European countries, with the aim of strengthening CF care. Launched in 2020 with eight partnerships, the programme has grown in 2024 to encompass an additional 19 twinning pairs and national patient organisations. Twinning activities include onsite visits, virtual meetings, educational initiatives and translation of learning resources into local languages. Programme evaluation is based on annual progress reports assessing collaboration, training, multidisciplinary team development at the mentee site, and the frequency and mode of communication. Of the 25 twinning pairs that submitted their reports in March 2025, 24 had established regular online communication and 19 had conducted at least one onsite visit. Based on reports received from 23 pairs in March 2026, we identified that the proportion of pairs completing reciprocal onsite visits rose from 24% (6/25) in 2025 to 65% (15/23) in 2026, and the proportion reporting regular clinical case consultations increased from 24% (6/25) to 83% (19/23). One mentee centre was approved as a new ECFS-CTN site. As of 2026, the network comprised 26 mentor centres and 28 mentee sites. The Twinning Project has fostered sustainable collaborations between CF centres and patient communities, contributing to the harmonisation of CF standards across Europe.