ABSTRACT
The 33rd International Congress of the ISBT was held in conjunction with the 33rd Congress of the Korean Society of Blood Transfusion (KSBT) and the 2014 Congress of the Korean Hematology Societies in Seoul. The idea to host an ISBT congress came to birth among KSBT members whilst attending the 18th Regional ISBT Congress held in Hanoi in 2007. Finally after 4 years, this idea became reality when Seoul was awarded to host the 2014 International Congress. After a short period of excitement, we soon had to realize that organising an international congress is a huge challenge with tremendous work involved! During the 3 years of preparation the ISBT headquarters and the local organising committee had several meetings that were not easy. But at the end, our concentrated and energetic discussions turned out to be most productive and made this congress a huge success. Highest appreciation again for their marvelous support goes to Peter Flanagan, ISBT President, and Judith Chapman, ISBT Executive Director. During the Korean day, three parallel sessions were held, attracting not only participants from the field of transfusion medicine but also many clinicians working in the field of hematology and transplantation. Martin Olsson, ISBT Scientific Secretary, and the local scientific committee did a great job in preparing an excellent scientific program that not only dealt with traditional topics of transfusion medicine but also hot topics like cellular therapy and clinical aspects of transfusion medicine. A total of 55 sessions were run in five tracks dealing with immunobiology of blood cells, blood safety, clinical aspects, donors & donation, and cellular therapies. 758 abstracts from 68 countries were submitted, among which 93 high quality abstracts were chosen for oral presentations and 603 for poster presentations. With 77 esteemed invited speakers presenting their cutting-edge research, all sessions were well attended and followed by lively discussions between speakers and the audience. Industry was also well presented and participants had the opportunity to exchange their experiences and take home information about the latest developments provided by the 74 exhibitors. But a congress isn't only about science! The opening ceremony started with the traditional presentation of the talking stick to the Congress President, Prof. Kyou-Sup Han. Afterwards, participants enjoyed the serenity and the flowing movements of Seoungmu, the Buddhist monk's dance, and Pungmulnori, a Korean folk music and dance tradition. All participants were greeted with a taste of Korean cuisine at the welcome reception. During the Speakers Dinner, guests had the chance to learn about the history of Korea and the Korean alphabet. The congress party, however, was the highlight of the social events. Since the congress took place in the middle of Gangnam, the southern part of Seoul, it was a must for everybody to learn dancing "Gangnam Style". Participants were invited onto stage to compete for the best dancer award and soon the stage was filled with joyously dancing participants and within seconds the party hall turned into a twilight zone. The party is over. It is time now to prepare calmly for the next stage. Hopefully ISBT Seoul 2014 will serve as a starting point to motivate many researchers working in the field of transfusion medicine and blood program to become more engaged at an international level.
Subject(s)
Humans , Awards and Prizes , Blood Cells , Blood Safety , Blood Transfusion , Dancing , Hematology , Korea , Meals , Music , Parturition , Seoul , Tissue Donors , Transfusion MedicineABSTRACT
Objective To organize the 14th ISBT Platelet Immunology Workshop and Cooperative Research Project,and proficiency evaluation on the techniques and quality level of platelet alloantiboby analysis will be taken effect for the 42 platelet immunology laboratories around the world. Methods Organized and confirmed by Nanning Institute of Transfusion Medicine,9 quality control samples contained the Human Platelet Antigen (HPA) specificity antibody have been supplied to all the participated laboratories in this project. The participants could use the In-House technology or/and market kits to test these quality control samples. The forms and sheets have been provided for recording of results. Results There were 36 laboratories from 23 countries participated in this Cooperative Research Project,and 35 laboratories have reported their results. The appraised consistent rate of the 9 quality control samples ranges from 20% to 97.14%,the HPA antibody specificities have been showed as anti HPA-1a,anti HPA-1b,anti HPA-3a,anti HPA-3a,anti HPA-3b,anti HPA-5b,anti HPA-5a,anti GPIV and anti HPA-5b+15b,respectively. Among the appraised consistent rate,the anti HPA-3b were the lowest and the anti HPA-5b and anti HPA-5a was the highest. Over 10 technologies of platelet alloantiboby analysis were used by the laboratories. Conclusion This international cooperative research project has successfully made the proficiency evaluation and report on the techniques and quality level of platelet alloantiboby analysis for the 35 international platelet immunology laboratories.