1st joint EHA – Balkan Hematology Day, a meeting of true regional commitment

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1st joint EHA – Balkan Hematology Day

Friday, October 11, 2019 | Pravets, Bulgaria

Meeting Chairs:

Prof Gert Ossenkoppele, Chair EHA Education Committee
Prof Gianluca Gaidano, Chair EHA Global Outreach Program Unit
Prof Margarita Guenova, Representative Balkan Societies

On Friday, October 11th the European Hematology Association (EHA) co-organized with the national societies from the Balkan countries for the first joint Balkan Hematology Day. The meeting focused on lymphoid malignancies and CAR-T and the topics acute myeloid leukemia, acute lymphoblastic leukemia and CAR-T cells presented by international faculty and local clinical case presenters, resulted in a strong program with valuable messages.

I wanted to thank you for the support, for your trust and hope that, together, we have started something useful and important that will grow further. 

Prof M Guenova (representative Balkan Societies)

The participation of the delegates during the meeting with the international faculty, local case presenters and hematology peers, showed good level of hematological competence and scientific curiosity, a positive feature that also sparked formal and informal conversations during the coffee breaks and lunches.

This meeting was a true representation of superb contribution and cooperation with regional partners as Albanian Association of Hematology, Bulgarian Society of Hematology, Croatian Society of Hematology, Kosovo Hematology Association, Macedonian Hematology Association, Romanian Hematology Society, Turkish Society of Hematology, Hellenic Society of Hematology, and The Hematological Section of the Serbian Health Association. The first joint Balkan day attracted more than 150 delegates from Bulgaria and neighboring countries. Learning that some attendees traveled 8-10 hours by bus or car to participate in the EHA-Balkan Hematology day shows a sign of true commitment and the necessity of joint partnerships in the region.

To support young hematologists both locally and regionally to participate in the meeting, EHA offered travel grants which covered registration, travel and accommodation for the meeting. In total 18 grants were awarded to scholars from seven different countries.

EHA would like to thank the organizing partner, specifically the representative of the Balkan Societies, the Bulgarian Medical Society of Hematology and particularly prof Margarita Guenova for being a truly great host, and the partners, the faculty and the attendees for making this meeting a success.

Last Updated on Thursday 14 November 2019.