The conference sessions loosely followed the vein-to-vein process and the day began by discussing how to motivate members of the public to donate. The opening presentation ‘Money Matters?! Donor Motivation, Incentives and Societal Implications’ was given by Professor Eva Maria Merz. Prof. Merz is a professor of sociology at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and her research focuses on the factors that influence non-remunerated voluntary blood donation, and how this is implemented in various ways throughout Europe. She is currently looking at the role that combining art with science plays in public engagement and donation motivation. Suzanne Roe, the Head of Community Engagement at the National Health Service Blood & Transplant  in the U.K. (NHSBT), discussed how engaging with local communities enhances our understanding of the societal and cultural influences on donation practices. Co-design of targeted blood donation campaigns, alongside community champions has helped increase both the number of donors, and the diversity within the donor population in the U.K. The Irish perspective on the diversifying our donor populations was communicated by Dr. Ellen McSweeney, IBTS Consultant Haematologist with responsibility for donor welfare and qualification. In her presentation, Dr. McSweeney discussed the implementation of Individual Donor Risk Assessment in Ireland. This was followed by Dermot Coyne, Chief Medical Scientist, who presented on how the implementation of malaria testing of blood donations has enabled the IBTS to diversify the ethnicities within the Irish donor pool. Taken together these initiatives have supported the recruitment of wider pool of individuals that are eligible to donate. However, these changes have also brought challenges with an increase in infectious disease marker detection rates.

The key-note address was delivered by Dr. Daniela Hermelin, Chief Medical Officer at Impact Life and Assistant Professor of Pathology at St. Louis University School of Medicine. This presentation took us out of the lab and into the world of global communication, and how this can be leveraged to improve transfusion medicine education. Dr. Hermelin took us through her journey from a social media nay-sayer to podcast guru, providing evidence and examples of how case studies, laboratory diagnoses and clinical outcome can be communicated beyond our own organisational boundaries to our national and international colleagues through social media, online journal clubs and podcasts. An amazing and inspiring presentation!

The next session placed a focus on new and emerging blood components, and achieving a sustainable supply. Dr. Cynthia So-Osman, Clinical Consultant in Transfusion Medicine Sanquin Blood bank, presented on the SUPPLY project, which is strengthening voluntary non-remunerated plasma collection capacity in Europe. She outlined her research on the importance of understanding how immunoglobulins are used in clinical practice, in order to inform future strategies for European plasma self-sufficiency. This was followed by a presentation from Chief Medical Scientist, Áine Fitzpatrick, on the IBTS experience with producing Low Titre Group O Whole Blood (LTOWB). The value of LTOWB, compared to multi-component transfusion, is an on-going debate pending the drafting and upcoming publishing of guidelines  by the US FDA in the coming months.. This work includes a survey to clinicians to gauge their appetite for the use of LTOWB, as well as other new and re-emerging blood components. Dr Yajhitha Chintala, PhD candidate of IBTS and TU-Dublin,  then expanded on the role that Platelet-Derived Extracellular Vesicles  (PEVs) may play in component quality and transfusion, and how whether assessment of these ‘cellular fragments’ is a future possibility for Blood Centres. TCD PhD candidate, Hayley Foy-Stones, presented her data on developing clinical protocols for monitoring patients following cellular therapy. She is characterising the dynamics of immune reconstitution in patients, and will use this to inform future practice.  Lastly, the advantages and disadvantages of introducing pathogen reduced platelets components was evaluated with clinical and scientific colleagues in a lunchtime symposium and round-table discussion group.

Next we were delighted to welcome Prof. Simon Stanworth, Consultant Haematologist for NHSBT at the John Radcliffe Hospital, to discuss the next steps in evaluating new blood components and therapies. It was clear that better trial design is required to ensure trial outcomes can be more easily transposed into policy. Edel Scally, Chief Medical Scientist of the IBTS Red Cell Immunohaematology Laboratory, presented on the benefits of combining red cell molecular genotyping with serology. A complex case study demonstrated how this combination can inform the optimum provision of blood in the transfused patient. We learned from Prof. Nicki Panoskaltsis, Consultant Haematologist at St. James’s Hospital and Professor in Personalised Therapeutics at Trinity College Dublin,  how past trial failures can inform future therapeutic translation and trial design. She is one of the leads on the new Irish Medicines centre for Personalised Advanced Cellular Therapies (IMPACT) which aims to bring new ‘Irish-grown’ personalised cellular therapies from the bench to the bedside. We finished out the day with a presentation from Prof. David McKenna, Director of the Division of Transfusion Medicine at the University of Minnesota, who’s research focuses on how to maintain the quality of cellular therapy products in this rapidly changing and advancing field.

Prof. John Semple, Professor of Transfusion Medicine at Lund University in Sweden, opened Day 2 with his expert presentation on platelet alloimmunisation and its consequences. The breadth of his research and its contribution to our current understanding of platelet transfusion practice was evident. Dr. Veena Chawan, postdoctoral candidate of the RCSI/IBTS CRIMSON (Centre for Research in Major haemorrhage and transfuSiON) initiative, expanded on these themes, describing her research on the structural changes that occur within the platelets following storage at various temperatures, and how this may impact their function in vivo. We were brought into the world of emergency trauma by Prof Ciarán McDonnell

Consultant Vascular Surgeon at Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, who highlighted the role that time plays in emergency medicine and how transfusion practices, and the components used, can directly impact outcomes. Dr. Aamir Amin presented his research into the multi-faceted role that ABO antigen expression may on primary haemostasis. New findings show how interaction with blood group specific VWF directly impacts bleeding.

Our final session encouraged us to think beyond our own organisation and country, and introduced the ambitious goal of ‘Safe Blood for All by 2050’ We were joined via zoom by colleagues in the National Blood Transfusion Service of Tanzania. Prof David Roberts, Medical Director for Pathology NHSBT, discussed how he has worked with colleagues in many different low and middle income countries and the crucial impact that sharing transfusion and haematology education has on practice in these areas. In addition, he pointed to the value to staff exchange and trainee programmes. Prof Puyana, Chair of Global Surgery at Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland presented on his work on mapping the pathways of blood from donor to patient in Kenya, and how this information can be leveraged to improve the availability of safe blood for transfusion. Lastly, the conference finished with the emotional journey of Dr. Trish Scanlon, Consultant in Paediatric Oncology, in starting a paediatric oncology service in Tanzania. We learnt how diagnosis and survival rates have increased, but also how the provision of platelets is still critical limiting factor in their care. 

The BlooDHIT conference enabled the IBTS to truly live its organisational values of ‘improving patient's lives, together’ and ‘striving for excellence’. It’s fitting that this article concludes with line from the opening address

‘Chíonn beirt rud nach bhfeiceann duine amháin’ - (Two people see what one person cannot).

The collaborative learning environment that was experienced by all attendees made this a reality.

BlooDHIT 2024 was beyond lucky to have some of the best speakers in the various transfusion specialities speak at the two day conference. They kindly provided their time, enthusiasm and expertise. Please see below to learn a little bit more about each of them. We look forward to staying in touch and hopefully seeing you all again in 2026!

Dr Simon Stanworth is Consultant Haematologist at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford (NHSBT and Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust), and Professor of Haematology and Transfusion Medicine, University of Oxford. He is Director of the NIHR Blood Transfusion Research Unit (BTRU) in Data Enabled Transfusion Practice. He has a long standing research interest in understanding which patients benefit from blood transfusions, or alternatives. Simon holds multiple leadership positions relevant to research and is Chair for National (previously NCRI) Transfusion/Supportive Care Working Party in Blood Cancer. Along with being co-lead Scientific member for an international Biomedical Excellence for Safer Transfusion Collaborative (BEST) he is also Chair of the European Haematology Association Scientific Working Group in Transfusion. Further, Simon is Chair of the International Collaboration for Transfusion Medicine Guidelines (ICTMG)

Cynthia So-Osman MD PhD is a Clinical Consultant in Transfusion Medicine at Sanquin Blood Bank at the Dept. of Transfusion Medicine, NL, with a research focus in Patient Blood Management. Besides her work at Sanquin Blood Bank, she works as a Clinical Haematology Consultant in the Erasmus University Hospital in Rotterdam, NL. Currently, she is a member of the Board of Directors as Vice President of the International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT). She participated in the EU4Health funded SUPPLY project, as group leader of the work package on immunoglobulin demand, being the European Hematology Association (EHA)- representative.

At BlooDHIT 2024, Cynthia presented during the Blood Components for Future session: “sustainable plasma production – demand & supply”

Dr. Trish Scanlan of Their Lives Matter (TLM)- Secretary Board of Directors & C.E.O. of TLM Tanzania. Dr Trish Scanlan is a founding board member as well as an Irish Paediatric oncologist who lived and worked in Tanzania since 2007.

Dr. Trish Scanlan spoke during the Global Health session: “CHI Crumlin/Tanzanian Partnership”

Dr.  David McKennaM.D. is a Professor of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at the University of Minnesota Medical School. He holds the American Red Cross Chair in Transfusion Medicine and is Director of the Division of Transfusion Medicine. He serves as the Medical Director of the University’s cGMP facility and Laboratory and Medical Director of the University of Minnesota Medical Center Clinical Cell Therapy Laboratory. Additionally, he serves as the Program Director of the fellowship in Transfusion Medicine/Blood Banking and the recently established fellowship in Cell Therapy and Regenerative Medicine. His research focuses on the scale-up and optimization of novel cell therapy manufacturing methods in support of pre-clinical and IND -enabling studies and ultimately early phase clinical trials.

David presented during the Heamaotology: Donors, Patients & Therapy session at BlooDHIT: “Ensuring quality, cellular therapy in Heamatology patients”

Dr. David Roberts is Medical Director for Pathology at NHS Blood and Transplant and Medical Lead for Convalescent Plasma NHSBT. He is also Professor of Haematology at the University of Oxford, Radcliffe Department of Medicine. He held a Wellcome Trust Senior Fellowship in Clinical Science and a Howard Hughes International Research Scholarship before appointment as a Principal Investigator in NHSBT.

Dr. Roberts spoke on Global Health: “Blood transfusion in developing countries ”

Professor Eva Maria Merz PhD is sociologist with backgrounds in family studies and demography. She is a Full Professor in Donor Behaviour at Sanquin and the Sociology department of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. She combines her theoretical and applied expertise within the topic of (blood) donor behaviour to study donor life-courses and the influence of personal and social network characteristics across different contexts. She received a prestigious European Research Council (ERC; 2018) grant to study motivators and barriers of donor behavior across time and different cultural and societal contexts. Recently, she combines research with art-based public events, e.g. museum exhibitions.

At BlooDHIT 2024 Eva Maria spoke passionately on “Donor Motivation & Incentive”

Prof. John Semple is joined St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, Canada in 1990 and became Head of the Toronto Platelet Immunobiology Group and a Professor of Pharmacology and Medicine at the University of Toronto. In 2016, he moved to Lund University in Sweden where he is currently a Professor of Transfusion Medicine and Group Leader in Platelet Immunology. In addition to being the recipient of many awards, he is a member of several organizations and has delivered over 200 presentations at international meetings. He currently serves on the editorial boards of Haematologica, Transfusion and the Scandinavian Journal of Immunology. His primary research interests include the pathogenesis of immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) where he studies animal models of platelet immunity. His lab also focuses on the pathogenic mechanisms that lead to Transfusion-Related Acute Lung Injury (TRALI). His lab was also one of the first to describe Toll-like Receptor (TLR) expression on platelets in 2004 and since then, he has had an interest in platelet-immune interactions. He has authored more than 200 peer-reviewed publications in the area of ITP, platelet immunology and TRALI.

John spoke on: Major Heamorrage & platelet transfusion: “platelet immunology”

Dr. Daniela Hermelin is Chief Medical Officer at ImpactLife, an Assistant Professor of Pathology at St. Louis University School of Medicine and the Medical Director of Transfusion Services at SSM Health St. Louis University Hospital and SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital. Dr. Hermelin serves as the Social Media Editor for Transfusion Medicine Reviews as well as an Associate Editor of The Blood Bank Guy Essentials Podcast and Transfusion News. Additionally, Dr. Hermelin is an active member of numerous professional associations including the Association for the Advancement of Blood and Biotherapies (AABB), The American Society for Apheresis (ASFA). The College of American Pathologists (CAP), American Society for Clinical Pathology, and the International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT). 

BlooDHIT 2024 was honoured to have Daniela as the keynote speaker.

Prof Ciaran McDonnell is a Consultant in the Mater Hospital. His area of expertise are: Aortic aneurysm repair. Carotid surgery. Endovascular surgery. Peripheral vascular disease. Varicose veins.

Suzanne Roe is Head of Community Engagement at NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT). Since taking this post, Suzanne has established a new Community Engagement function from start up, utilising existing talent and freshly created opportunities to build a team ready to deliver the strategy. She has also created a place-based framework for Community Engagement that allows NHSBT to work alongside localities to identify ways to collaborate at a local level, build strong community relationships and create bespoke activity plans within these communities that result in increased engagement, advocacy, awareness, registrations, and donors donating. Prior to this Suzanne was Senior Manager, Better Communities at Asda. Responsible for Asda's corporate charity partnerships, including Fight Hunger, Create Change, Tickled Pink (supporting CoppaFeel! and Breast Cancer Now), Children in Need and Asda’s local Community Champion programme. Suzanne also enjoyed time at the energy company E.ON leading all their community and charity partnerships, employee volunteering, community funds and education programmes. Under her leadership E.ON were awarded numerous accolades for their education programme, E.ON Energy Experience and for their charity partnerships community work with Action for Children, Age UK, National Energy Action and Alzheimer’s Society. E.ON were also successful in securing the Community Mark from Business in the Community for excellence in community investment during her leadership. 

Edel Scally is a Chief Medical Scientist working in the Red Cell Immunohaematology Laboratory at the Irish Blood Transfusion Service. Her undergraduate research project at the University of Lund, Sweden fueled her interest in rare blood groups. This led her to expand on this education at the University of Bristol, pursuing a MSc in Transfusion and Transplantation Science. Her main areas of interest relate to antenatal testing and identification of rare red cell antibodies. She is a member of the TTSAB working group with the Academy of Clinical Science and Laboratory Medicine.

Prof. Nicki Panoskaltsis is a clinician-scientist with a niche interest in translational interdisciplinary research and personalised therapeutics, focused in myeloid neoplasms. She completed her MD at the University of Toronto (Canada), clinical training and American Board Certification in Internal Medicine, Haematology and Bone Marrow Transplantation at the University of Rochester (USA) and a PhD in Immunology at Imperial College London (UK) where she remained as faculty until 2018. She has recently moved from Emory University and Georgia Institute of Technology (USA) and is now Professor in Personalised Therapeutics at Trinity College Dublin and Consultant Haematologist at St. James’s Hospital. She has an international reputation in cytokine release syndrome, bone marrow organoid and haematopoietic cell cultures, and in silico modelling of chemo-immunotherapy for leukaemia. She is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (London), has received numerous awards for excellence in clinical care, research, entrepreneurship, and has several patents.

Dr Ellen McSweeney is a Consultant Haematologist at the Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS) headquarters in Dublin, with responsibility for donor care and selection. She has played a major role in the implementation of Individual Donor Risk Assessment (IDRA) in the IBTS and has led the donor eligibility aspects of the implementation of malaria antibody testing. She represents the IBTS on international committees including the United Kingdom’s Special Advisory Committee on the Care and Selection of Donors, the FAIR IV Committee, and is a member of the Donor and Donations and Haemovigilance Working Parties of the International Society of Blood Transfusion.

Hayley Foy-Stones obtained her B.Sc. in Medical Science with first-class honours in 2017 and received two Irish awards and one European award for her undergraduate research project. Since then she has gained 6-years of experience as a Medical Scientist in the Cryobiology Stem Cell Facility at St James’s Hospital. In 2021, Hayley commenced a part-time PhD with Trinity College Dublin and her research is investigating immune reconstitution following allogeneic stem cell transplantation and CAR-T cell therapy. Her PhD project is a collaborative effort involving Cryobiology and Clinical Haematology (SJH), Cancer Immunology (TCD), and the Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS).

Áine Fitzpatrick is a Chief Medical Scientist in the IBTS Cork Centre and currently manages the Components and Hospital Services Departments in the MRTC. Áine has extensive knowledge of blood component production and product development, having introduced numerous technologies to the organisation. Over the last 16 years with the IBTS, Áine has overseen the implementation of the TACSI pooling system, introduction of the European Blood Packs and development of platelet activation assays. She has developed robust collaborative relationships with international partners, and published her work with BEST, including papers on “Timing of gamma irradiation and blood donor sex influences in vitro characteristics of red blood cells” and “Evaluation of platelet concentrates prepared from whole blood donations with collection times between 12 and 15 min: The BEST Collaborative study”. Áine’s most recent interest is focused on evaluating a low titre group O whole blood product for use in Irish hospitals.

Dermot Coyne is the Chief Medical Scientist of the Virology Laboratory, one of three laboratories that encompass the National Donor Testing Laboratory (NDSL). He responsible for the provision of the infectious disease serology screening service and delivering a quality Virology service to all its users. A key role of Dermot’s is to actively promote and encourage scientific research with the laboratory.

Dr. Veena Chawan is a dedicated post-doctoral researcher at the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin. She holds a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and a Master's in Biotechnology from the University of Mumbai. Her research has garnered numerous accolades, including international travel grants and awards for her poster presentations. Dr. Chawan has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals, significantly contributing to the understanding of microtubule dynamics and sperm motility. Currently, she is working on a project to increase the shelf life of platelet concentrates in collaboration with the Irish Blood Transfusion Services (IBTS). Her dedication to continuous learning and commitment to improving human health through scientific advancements make her a valuable contributor to the field. Dr. Chawan actively participates in professional development, presenting her work at various prestigious conferences globally.

Aamir Amin isa Postdoctoral research fellow in the academic haemostasis research group, which is part of Irish Centre for Vascular Biology, School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences (PBS), Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI). Currently, Aamir is investigating how the ABO blood group impacts major bleeding risk and thrombosis by influencing plasma Von Willebrand factor (VWF) biological functions and clearance. Furthermore, he is also interested in delineating novel molecular interactions between the VWF and the cellular signalling mediators contributing to inflammation at the site of vascular injury with the ultimate aim of developing improved diagnostic and therapeutic modalities contributing towards better patient care.