| For Apheresis Professionals |
Invitation from the Conference Chair
On behalf of the ASFA 2010 Annual Meeting Organizing Committee and the ASFA Board of Directors, I am pleased to share with you the program for our 31st annual meeting. The 2010 meeting is scheduled for May 26-29 at the Sheraton New Orleans Hotel, New Orleans, Louisiana. This meeting will be an opportunity to experience the resurgence of the great city of New Orleans. With a central location in one of the countries most “walkable” downtowns, attendees will have the opportunity to experience the history, jazz, and cuisine of the Crescent City and grow in the field of apheresis!The Annual Meeting Organizing Committee has prepared a scientific and educational program that covers all aspects of apheresis medicine. You will find that we made a concerted effort to present you with different aspects of apheresis, including both therapeutic apheresis and donor apheresis. We believe that each of you will find something interesting at each time slot whether you are nurse, technologist, or physician and whether you are new to the field of apheresis or have been practicing for decades.
As in the past we will have three scientific symposia. The opening symposium will address “Major Clinical Trails in Apheresis”. In this session will review the challenges of performing trials in apheresis and review the status of ongoing and upcoming clinical trials in therapeutic and donor apheresis. The Friday symposium will focus on donor apheresis including donor recruitment, selection, counseling, and the role of the blood collection center in donor health. Finally, the closing symposium “Therapeutic Apheresis” will discussing topics frequently requested by the Society’s membership including the challenges of pediatric apheresis, the role of apheresis in atypical TTP-like syndromes, and photopheresis in solid organ transplantation. The next Special Edition of the Journal of Clinical Apheresis will also be previewed and attendees will have the opportunity to see what will change. In addition to the scientific symposia, we will offer eight education sessions including donor apheresis, cellular therapy, therapeutic apheresis, apheresis unit management and apheresis in the pediatric patient. You will have a choice of other topics of interest to both newcomers and experienced practitioners. We have also listened to your suggestions and strived to avoid concurrent sessions dealing with the same topics so that people can focus on their areas of interest. As always, the meeting will include the clinical and technical rounds. Something new to clinical rounds this year will be an increase in the number of tables and the opportunity to rotate to a new table half-way through the session. Cutting-edge abstract presentations, vendor educational sessions, and a forum on educating resident and fellow physicians in apheresis complement the scheduled offerings.
Finally, I would like to mention an opportunity that will allow all attendees to give back to our hosts, the city of New Orleans. During the meeting, attendees will have the opportunity to roll up their sleeves and participate in a blood drive!
We invite all members and non-member apheresis practitioners to join us in New Orleans!
Jeffrey L. Winters, M.D.
President-Elect, ASFA
Chair, ASFA 2010 Annual Meeting Organizing Committee
