The Clinical Transfusion Working Party aims to promote evidence-based transfusion and patient blood management practices by developing educational resources and best-practice guidelines, offering expert guidance, and supporting globally focused research.
Chairperson and committee
Chairperson: Richard R. Gammon (USA)
Vice Chair: Ruchika Goel (USA)
Secretary: Yashaswi Dhiman (India)
Subgroups
There are nine subgroups of the WP. The Wikipedia subgroup was incorporated into the Education Subgroup.
- Pediatrics -Chair Satyam Arora, India; Co-chair Ravi Dara, UAE
- Patient Blood Management (PBM) - Chair Kamini Khillan, India; Co-chair Yashaswi Dhiman, India
- Transfusion Practitioners (TP) - Chair Rachel Moss, UK; Co-chair Jana Vanden Broeck, Belgium
- Education - Chair Richard Gammon, USA; Co-chair Divjot Singh Lamba, India
- Apheresis - Chair Hans Vrielink, Netherlands; Co-chair Soumya Das, India
- Hemoglobinopathies - Chair Ratti Ram Sharma, India; Co-chair Sangeeta Pahuja, India
- Social Media - Chair Sharmila Manian, Malaysia; Co-chair Murilo Matos Daflon Moura, Brazil
- Passive Immune Therapy - Chair Cynthia So-Osman, Netherlands; Co-chair Sharmila Manian, Malaysia
- Life threatening hemorrhages (LTH) - Chair Mark Yazer, USA; Co-chair Josephine McCullagh, UK
Katerina Pavenski is the Board liaison.
The Terms of Reference (TOR) of the WP was revised and reviewed by the WP committee in January 2026 and will be submitted to the ISBT board for its approval.
Membership
The Working Party has 134 members, including 25% (33) Young Professionals, with the largest representation from India, Australia, the Netherlands, and Canada, and many members having joined recently between 2021 and 2025 (8% in 2021, 7% in 2022, 10% in 2023, and 8% in 2025).
Meetings
Milan Meeting – 1 June 2026 (Hybrid) The Milan hybrid meeting began with the introduction of the current core group. Key discussions included the revised Terms of Reference, which is the second revision in four years and has now been uploaded to the Working Party website for public access. Updates were also provided on the planned Portuguese translation of the transfusion reaction module, scheduled for release in 2025. In addition, ISBT funding for the Amsterdam business meeting (January 2026) was discussed, along with a review of the membership survey findings.
Amsterdam Meeting – 30 January 2026 (Hybrid) The Amsterdam hybrid meeting focused on the applicability and structure of the Clinical Transfusion Working Party (CTWP), which currently includes nine subgroups. The core group reviewed subgroup activities to ensure clear objectives and relevance, with consideration given to consolidating some subgroups as priorities have evolved. Updates were shared on website changes, including the requirement for active membership to join CTWP and the limitation of participation to a maximum of two subgroups per member, with CTWP chair oversight for CTP status. The LTH subgroup was also added, and membership requirements for the TP subgroup were updated. Subgroup highlights included 16 social media posts, with World Blood Donor Day (14 June 2025) reaching 2,603 views. Finally, Pierre Tiberghien presented insights into the upcoming 2026–2030 strategic plan, which is nearing finalisation and will be released soon.
Activities during the period
Major Projects and Initiatives
- Maldives Standards Project- WHO SEARO (Southeast Asia) contacted Jenny White (ISBT Executive Director) to review National Blood Transfusion Standards of Maldives. CTWP was assigned selected sections to review with a one month turnaround-time. A 15-member working group from CTWP was created and the project was completed by deadline.
- Cameroon ISBT Academy Day- As part of this the CTWP provided a didactic session- The Art of Developing and Implementing Relevant and Effective Educational Programs in Transfusion.
- Kurdistan RCPath Project -The Royal College of Pathologists previously established a MoU with the Kurdistan Ministry of Health and includes ISBT and IMDC Pakistan. The Kurdistan Ministry of Health has approved funding for a scoping visit. The purpose of this working group is to study is to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the existing blood transfusion services to provide strategic, evidence-based recommendations for strengthening and modernizing the system in line with mutually agreed upon standards. An onsite visit is tentatively planned for 4Q26.
- PBM Awareness Week – This was led by the PBM Subgroup and included five consecutive carousel posts on Social Media focusing on PBM awareness with one post per day on 8-12 December 2025. The plan is to make this an annual event potentially in collaboration with SABM.
- CTWP Membership Survey – This was initiated by the core group to update membership status, subgroup participation and demographic data of CTWP members. The survey was sent to all CTWP 142 members and 89 responded. (62.7%) A total of 93.18% of the members are involved with at least one subgroup. (see section 3 for further details).
- Terms of Reference Update- These were reviewed at the Amsterdam 2026 business meeting, finalized by the core group and will be sent to the Central Office for Board review and approval.
- Transfusion Guidelines in Patients with Hemoglobinopathies- This project will review the literature and compile the transfusion guidelines for sickle cell disease and thalassemia in low and middle-income countries (LMIC) vs. High-income countries (HIC).
Scientific/Technical Progress
- Patient Blood Management Resources: 16 chapters were updated on the ISBT member website
Collaboration and Partnerships
- Participation in the NATA Virtual PBM marathon- The CTWP PBM subgroup was a participant in the 24 hour session, the title was- A Practical Roadmap to simplify PBM in LMIC.
Education and Outreach
- Management of Transfusion Medicine Programme - The program has existed for more than 20 years now and is endorsed by WHO and ISBT and is conducted by Sanquin in collaboration with the University of Groningen. It is a two year program designed primarily for participants from LMICs, with a focus on strengthening management competencies and leadership skills within blood establishments. The curriculum comprises 13 courses, two internships in The Netherlands [2 months], and a thesis component. There are currently 13 active students, predominantly from mid- African countries. Upon completion, the students receive a diploma from the University of Maryland.
- The I TRY IT Program- Six to eight applicants are selected every year, and every mentee gets two mentors. In 2026 selected participants were from Iran, Malawi, Malasia, Peru and Ukraine. Five protocols were submitted for partial funding, and the highest scoring protocol was -Dose-Responsive Impact of Granulocyte Transfusions in Pediatric Hematological Patients with Febrile Neutropenia.
Training / Workshops / Events
- Journal Club (JC)/Meet the expert session/Webinars-10 live sessions, recordings are available on the ISBT member site.
Working Party Publications
Challenges and Opportunities
Barriers encountered
- Funding- While some funding is allocated for the two business meetings held per year, for which the CTWP is greatful, additional funding would increase in person attendance, team collaboration and minimize out of pocket expenses.
- Large number of subgroups-The core group will continue to monitor their productivity and relevance. Wikipedia was incorporated into Education (See Section 2) others may follow as recommended by the core group.
Resource needs
- Additional support from the Scientific Office of ISBT is needed as responses are often delayed or require a follow-up email.
Opportunities for development
- Restriction of subgroups- Ensure that new members are restricted to two subgroups so that they can focus their efforts on current projects.
- Member engagement- Promote through subgroup chairs and co-chairs the participation of a larger portion of membership.
Summary
There were a number of major achievements. One was the completion of the Maldives Standards Project by deadline. This was the first edition of the national standards and will allow for national uniformity of practice that could be assessed. PBM Awareness week promoted through social media was done to create an increased mindfulness from the perspective of WHO, healthcare professionals, hopsitals and patients. The focus during the Cameroon ISBT Academy Day was to discuss developing and implementing relevant and effective educational programs in transfusion medicine. The Kurdistan RCPath Project plans to provide a comprehensive assessment of the existing blood transfusion services and to deliver strategic, evidence-based recommendations for strengthening and modernizing the system in line with mutually agreed upon standards. An onsite visit is tentatively planned for 4Q26. A CTWP Membership Survey was conducted to ensure the membership roster was current and to ensure good communication within CTWP. The terms of reference were reviewed and updated to reflect current practices.
