Accredited Lectures

In this lecture, Dr. Vincenzo De Angelis, Director of the Italian National Blood Centre (CNS) describes the organization and provides an overview of the collection of human plasma in the Italian national blood establishments and of its contract-manufacturing fractionation into medicinal products (PDMPs). His presentation summarizes the results of Italian programme for Country self-sufficiency in plasma-derived medicinal PDMPs and for the international cooperation in the field of PDMPs. The presentation also gives insight into the prevalence and incidence of transfusion-transmitted infections of interest for the plasma master-file of the Italian plasma, submitted to the European Medicine Agency (EMA). Finally, recent epidemiological data on B19V infection within the Italian donor population are reviewed, and precautionary recommendations for preventing transfusion-transmitted B19V infections drafted by the Italian National Blood Centre are presented.

CONTINUING EDUCATION UNITS: 0.5 hours

In this lecture, Dr. Susan L. Stramer, PhD, MS, presents a comprehensive overview of the evolution, impact, and future directions of nucleic acid testing (NAT) in blood safety. She begins by outlining the historical context of NAT’s introduction in the United States in 1999, initially implemented for HIV and HCV to enhance blood safety by enabling earlier detection of infections compared to serological methods.

Dr. Stramer highlights the significant reduction in transfusion-transmitted infections (TTIs) due to NAT, with current risks estimated at less than 2 per million units. Over time, NAT has expanded to include detection of other pathogens such as West Nile Virus (WNV), Zika Virus (ZIKV), and Trypanosoma cruzi.

The primary advantage of NAT lies in its ability to detect infectious agents before antibodies become detectable, thereby narrowing the diagnostic window. The lecture also explores the technological evolution of NAT, including methods such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR), transcription-mediated amplification (TMA), and recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA). Additional considerations discussed include sample pooling strategies, pool sizes, and other operational aspects that influence the sensitivity and efficiency of NAT in blood screening.

CONTINUING EDUCATION UNITS: 0.5 hours

In this lecture, Professor Mike Murphy will share the Oxford experience with implementing electronic systems to support blood inventory management and transfusion practice.  He will discuss the need for these improvements and describe the use of information technology at Oxford.  Professor Murphy concludes with a discussion of other opportunities to implement information technology in transfusion medicine practice.

CONTINUING EDUCATION UNITS: 0.5 hours

In this lecture, Dr. Daniel Candotti provides an overview of the current state of clinical research on occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over 2 billion people have been infected with HBV, and more than 820,000 deaths are attributed to hepatitis B each year. While antiviral treatments can suppress the infection, they often fail to completely eliminate the virus, leading to cases of subclinical, persistent infection.

Dr. Candotti explores several mechanisms by which the hepatitis B virus evades immune detection. He also discusses the implications of these occult infections for the safety of the blood supply.

CONTINUING EDUCATION UNITS: 0.5 hours

In this lecture, Dr. Ravneet Kaur discusses medical concerns related to iron deficiency in blood donors. Iron deficiency is the most common reason for donor deferral, leading to the loss of many willing donors. She explains how iron deficiency can be assessed and suggests strategies to prevent this common cause of deferral, ultimately resulting in a more robust and safer donor pool.

CONTINUING EDUCATION UNITS: 0.5 hours

In this lecture, Dr. Noriko Namba describes the role of voluntary non-remunerated blood donations in Japan.  She describes the history of the transition from paid donations to non-remunerated donations, which make up all donations today.

CONTINUING EDUCATION UNITS: 0.5 hours

In this lecture by Tomasz Kluszczynski, Plasma Derived Medicinal Products (PDMPs) encompass a wide spectrum of therapies that play a critical role in modern healthcare, offering significant value to patients, clinicians, health systems, and society as a whole. Understanding their importance involves exploring their unique lifecycle stages, including the complex processes of plasma collection and fractionation. A comprehensive examination of PDMPs also requires a deep dive into the key challenges that affect their supply chain, spanning the entire journey “from donor to patient.” Addressing these challenges is essential to identifying and implementing effective solutions that promote more equitable and sustainable access to these vital therapies.

CONTINUING EDUCATION UNITS: 0.5 hours

In this presentation, Dr. Sarah Tanaka will initially present a review of visceral leishmaniasis infection, including details of the etiological agent and transmission. Later, she will share details about the risk of transfusion transmission of the infection, including some risk mitigation strategies, which she and the research group she belongs to are exploring.

CONTINUING EDUCATION UNITS: Hours: 0.5

In this lecture, Dr. Evan Bloch describes transfusion reactions which present with respiratory signs and symptoms. He describes how to discern between Definitive, Probable and Possible association between symptoms and transfusion, and describes several layers of severity. In addition, Dr. Bloch describes different levels of Imputability: definite, probable, possible and doubtful. He also describes the most common symptoms, with a focus on TRALI, TACO, sepsis, etc., and discusses treatment options.

CONTINUING EDUCATION UNITS: Hours: 1.0

In this lecture, Dr. Jed Gorlin shares insights regarding the establishment of an alloantibody registry at the Community Blood Center of Kansas City. He will discuss how this registry has been a direct benefit to patients. Dr. Gorlin concludes his lecture by outlining the importance and challenges of establishing a national registry.

CONTINUING EDUCATION UNITS: Hours: 0.5