Highlights from the SWG

The EHA Transfusion SWG completed the following tasks during 2022.

The SWG successfully arranged a webinar on March 29, which was intended as a virtual teaser for the upcoming Scientific Meeting in September. The webinar was called “Transfusion medicine: a short journey around Europe”, in which key opinion leaders from nine European countries gave brief presentations on hot topics, the latest updates, and new approaches, highlighting the transfusion roadmap in Europe in the next 5-10 years.

The previously-planned (postponed several times due to the COVID-19 pandemic) three-day Scientific Meeting took place in Prague on September 15-17. Because of the uncertainty of the pandemic, and to allow participants from areas where travel restrictions were still in place, the meeting was arranged in a hybrid format. The Scientific Meeting was called “Developing a research agenda for transfusion in Europe” . It aimed to identify, strengthen and prioritize opportunities for European-wide research in transfusion and understand existing research in transfusion across European countries. It focused particularly on creating networks for junior and early career researchers.

The SWG also hosted a session at the main EHA Congress in Vienna in June. The session highlighted better and safer blood components, convalescent plasma and the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, and the likely future role of manufactured blood from stem cells.

The SWG also established a collaboration with the International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT), which has led onto a rolling programme of joint EHA – ISBT sessions at both congresses

Priorities for the next year:

  1. SWG Session at the EHA 2023 Congress EHA
  2. ISBT-EHA SWG Joint Symposium at the EHA 2023 Congress EHA
  3. Supporting the SUPPLY project on immunoglobulins
  4. Developing a Big data working group