On Friday, October 11^th 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.

The 3^rd joint Hematology Tutorial with the Armenian Hematology Association was held in October 2019, focusing this time on Lymphoid Malignancies. The meeting covered both biological and clinical aspects, giving participants the knowledge to better identify symptoms, make proper classifications and follow appropriate treatment options for each stage and age group.

The first edition of the Highlights of Past EHA (HOPE) meeting in Latin America (LA) was held on October 4-5, 2019 in Mendoza, Argentina. The meeting concluded the biennial congress of the Sociedad Argentina de Hematología (SAH), HOPE LA’s main partner this year.

The 4th Highlights of Past EHA (HOPE) Middle East & North Africa (MENA) took place (for the third time) in Cairo, Egypt, organized in collaboration with the Pan Arab Hematology Association (PAHA) and hosted by the Egyptian Society of Hematology and Research (ESHR), and supported by the national hematology societies from the region, who were represented in the program as chairs of various sessions.

On September 24, Prof Ulrich Jäger, former EHA President and current member of the EHA European Affairs Committee, was elected as co-chair of the Health Care Professionals Working Party (HCPWP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA). He will lead the working party during its 2019-2022 mandate alongside Juan Garcia-Burgos, EMA’s head of Public Engagement.

There have been many developments on rare diseases since the EU Orphan Medicinal Products Regulation came into force in 2000. As the European Commission is evaluating its effectiveness, EHA discussed with Prof. Giampaolo Merlini, Director of the Amyloidosis Research and Treatment Center and researcher at the Department of Molecular Medicine of the University of Pavia, how far we have come and what still needs to be done to improve access to treatment for rare diseases.

The European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) is an EU-funded, intergovernmental framework that aims to create pan-European research networks in all science fields and promote excellence, foster interdisciplinary research and empower young researchers and innovators.

Research and academic groundwork funded with public means should be free and open to everyone. That is the principle behind Open Access that was formulated in 2003 in the Berlin Declaration. More than a decade has passed since and for years no significant action was taken. Scientific research, paid for by the taxpayer, is still mostly locked behind paywalls.

HemaSphere presents first in a series of Consensus Reports on Diagnosis of Inherited Bleeding Problems For hematologists, it can be challenging to make the correct diagnosis in patients with bleeding problems…

The first edition of the Highlights of Past EHA (HOPE) in Asia was held in Kolkata, India and was a great success. The meeting was organized in collaboration with the Indian Society of Haematology and Blood Transfusion (ISHBT) and hosted by the Eastern Haematology Group (EHG), attended by over 600 participants from India, Nepal, Bangledesh, Pakistan, the Philippines, Malaysia and Myanmar.

Professor Robert Hills started volunteering for EHA when he participated in the Clinical Research Training in Hematology (CRTH) program in 2016. This year, Professor Hills started as an Associated Editor for HemaSphere. Meet Professor Hills and learn about what he does and why he's volunteering for EHA.

Large-scale detection and characterization of T Cells with anti-tumor specificity in chronic lymphocytic leukemia: Can it pave the way for cellular treatments or vaccination strategies?

In 2018, the Physician Scientist Research Grant was awarded for the first time. During the 24th EHA Congress, Delfim Duarte from Porto, Portugal received the award. In a recent interview, Dr Duarte explains how he experienced the application procedure and describes the impact of winning this award.