The world’s leading experts in bone marrow and stem cell transplantation are coming to London next week for the 10th International Donor Registry Conference and WMDA Working group meetings hosted by Anthony Nolan, in our 40th Anniversary year.
More than 300 delegates will attend the event at London's prestigious Royal College of Physicians, from Wednesday 14 May -Saturday 17 May 2014.
The theme of the programme is Improving Donor Availability, Acquisition and Outcomes through Global Collaboration.
The event will include interactive sessions, debates and case-based discussions, with a focus on both donor registry and clinical topics.
Professor Alejandro Madrigal, Anthony Nolan’s Scientific Director is opening the conference.
He said, ‘The WMDA will be marking its 20th anniversary in 2014 and the first International Donor Registry Conference was in London in 1998 so it is a time of double celebration.
‘We have come a long way in stem cell research and tissue typing but there is still so much more to share and learn through collaboration.’
Experts and international speakers
Among the highlights will be UK experts including Prof Charlie Craddock (Birmingham), Prof Nigel Russell (Nottingham University Hospital) and Prof Tony Pagliuca (King’s College Hospital).
International speakers on topics such as Donor factors leading to attrition (Dr Galen Switzer, University of Pittsburgh, USA), Ethical Hazards of Stem Cell Tourism (Prof Jeremy Sugarman, John Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics, USA) and Optimising the Donor File – Quality versus Quantity (Dr Alexander Schmidt, DKMS, Germany).
The sixth Shirley Nolan Lectureship is being presented by Dr Dennis Confer, NMDP, USA. Set up in 2004 to honour the pioneering work of our founder, the award is bestowed by the World Marrow Donor Association on an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the field of stem cell transplantation.
The event will take place at the award-winning Royal College of Physicians. The venue has a rich history with the organisation receiving a Royal Charter during the reign of Henry VIII in 1518.
'An exciting and productive event'
Richard Davidson, Marketing and Communications Director, Anthony Nolan said, ‘Everyone at Anthony Nolan is delighted at the prospect of hosting the conference in London – a great honour and one of the highlights of our 40th anniversary year.
‘With a fantastic line-up of educational and interactive sessions involving many of the leaders in stem cell transplantation from across the globe, it is set to be an exciting and productive event.’
The conference and WMDA meetings are made possible because of the generous support of our sponsors: Histogenetics, as our Platinum sponsor and Abbott Molecular, Chugai, LabCorp and One Lambda as our gold sponsors. Further support has been provided by the UK Government’s Department of Health, DNA Genotek, Ontime Onboard Courier and VH Bio.