Message from the president

Dear Colleagues

Welcome to the Congress!

For the first time, the ISBT Regional Congress is being hosted by the wonderful city of Madrid, and this year, it is jointly organised with SETS, the Sociedad Espanola de Transfusion Sanguinea, under its President, Dr. Prat. As always, the final result is due to the combined help of the great many staff who have worked tirelessly to ensure a smooth and seamless event, under the steady hands of Congress President, Dr. Barbolla, and the Local Organising Committee Chair, Dr. Marfull, together with their teams. We can enjoy a superb programme thanks to Dr Muniz-Diaz and the Local Scientific Committee, to whom I am very grateful. I extend my thanks as well to all the others who have cooperated to make what we hope will be one of our finest congresses to date. We are, of course, also indebted to all the many sponsors, without whom this congress would simply not be possible.

In addition to the academic side of a congress, networking and learning about the local area are also essential components in forging a success, and this year, we are particularly well-served. I strongly encourage you to take part in some of our "extras" including the Fiesta Espanola, which is taking place in a castle(!), and the many optional excursions to exotic and historical places.

Finally, on a personal note, I am extremely excited to visit the world of whitewashed villas, blue skies, and red earth; a beauty of mutual contrast. At the same time, as ISBT President, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all the delegates from all over the world, who invariably contribute to the success of this Congress, and I look forward to meeting everyone in Madrid.

Shigeru Takamoto,
President, ISBT

 

Welcome address for Scientific Programme

Dear Colleagues,

The scientific programme has been prepared by the Local Scientific Committee, incorporating suggestions of the International Advisory Committee regarding the selection of topics and speakers. Both these committees working in collaboration have been beneficial for everybody, and have contributed to the successful preparation of the programme. We have endeavoured to include most of the different aspects that make up transfusion medicine in the programme. Given the complexity of transfusion medicine and given the numerous links with biology and other fields of medicine, it is not easy to include all subjects. Nevertheless, the offer is wide and I am sure that each of you will find something of interest. One of the main challenges of the committee has been to include as many participants as possible. To this end, we have designed scientific sessions consisting of two or three short lectures followed by the maximum number of oral presentations. The educational programme also includes a wide selection of subjects to be presented by renowned experts in the field. We have opted for a plenary educational programme because we feel that this is a unique opportunity to obtain information about aspects of blood transfusion with which we are not so acquainted on a daily basis. Finally, we welcome the decision of ISBT to include an educational course in Spanish on the day that precedes the official opening of the congress.

I hope that this congress will be a memorable experience for all the participants and at least as fascinating as it has been for those responsible for the scientific programme.

Dr. Eduardo Muñiz-Diaz,
President of the Scientific Committe

 

Welcome by the President of the SETS

Dear Colleagues,

Blood transfusion was the first tissue transplant ever performed, with the haematopoietic tissue with its peculiarities and special characteristics. These were followed by the first steps taken in cell compatibility and in providing solutions on refractoriness problems. We shouldn’t forget that the haematopoietic tissue is the transfusional basis of our daily work. Therefore we can’t be wrong, if we definitely affirm that transfusion is by far, the most frequent and extended transplant in the world. Thousands of cellular transplants are daily performed under the rules of compatibility and close surveillance of all the processes named, “transfusion chain”.

All human blood cells, whether their source is the marrow or coming from other haematopoietic organs, whether they are obtained from the umbilical blood cord, or whether they are mobilized or not within the blood stream, deserve a special dedication. We cannot lose the wide, passionate and transcendental sense of our speciality. Our future is promising, the advances in Transfusion Medicine are in consonance with those in the most important fields of Medicine, creating new expectations related with the diverse stem cells.

This, ISBT-SETS Congress is the result of joining the efforts of both societies (International Society of Blood Transfusion - ISBT - and the Spanish Society of Blood Transfusion - SETS -) in order to offer the most updated advances in all the fields within our specialty.

Welcome to everyone!

Dr. Isidro Prat,
President of SETS

 

↑ top