During the reporting period, several virtual and in-person meetings were held to progress Working Party (WP) activities and strategic priorities.

A virtual meeting between the WP Chair and WP Board Liaison took place on 11 April 2025 to discuss WP matters requiring Board Liaison support. This was followed by an Executive Committee meeting on 9 May 2025, focusing on new member applications and planning for the Milan ISBT Congress 2025. A further Executive Committee meeting was held on 20 May 2025 to finalise preparations for the WP Business Meeting during the Milan Congress.

The WP Business Meeting was held in person on 31 May 2025 during the Milan Regional ISBT Congress. A total of 19 members attended in person and 16 joined via videoconference, while 7 members were absent. In addition, 8 guests and 7 Corporate Partners attended. Prior to the meeting, members were asked to identify their top immunohaematology laboratory challenge, which informed discussions on key focus areas for WP subgroups. The main themes included:

• Serological Testing: challenges in assessing clinical significance of alloantibodies to high-prevalence antigens, limited blood volume testing methods, need for improved exchange of rare blood samples and antisera, compatibility testing in patients treated with anti-CD38/CD47 therapies, low-affinity antibodies, and platforms for sharing rare or unidentified antibody cases.
• Molecular Testing: resolution of ambiguous allele results in commercial assays, sharing of rare alleles, defining combined serologic/molecular testing algorithms, expanding use of genotyping, and improving patient versus donor screening approaches.
• Education and Training: need for enhanced training in new serological and molecular technologies and addressing workforce shortages in immunohaematology expertise.
• Immunohaematology Reagents: issues related to cost recovery for laboratory analysis and difficulties in international sharing of rare reagents.
• Quality Assurance & Accreditation: need for IT solutions for secure data exchange, and challenges related to QC requirements where commercial controls are limited and regulatory understanding is insufficient.

An in-person Executive Committee meeting was held on 15–16 December 2025 at the ISBT Central Office in Amsterdam. During this meeting, subgroup tasks were defined based on priorities identified at the Milan Business Meeting. A key issue identified was the shortage of rare cells and antisera for confirming genetic findings and achieving case resolution. This will be addressed by the Reagents Subgroup in collaboration with the Rare Donors Working Party through the development of a sample exchange programme. The Committee also explored the development of both wet and dry workshops, including a mobile “toolbox” model and in-situ training visits by immunohaematology experts, led by the Training and Education Subgroup. Additional discussions included review of case studies submitted for publication, planning of future Executive Committee meetings (including four online meetings and one joint meeting with subgroup leaders), and a meeting with the Board Liaison and Special Advisor regarding future WP direction.

A further virtual Executive Committee meeting was held on 20 January 2026 to follow up on actions from the December meeting, including finalisation of WP funding requests for 2026/27 and progression of voting for new members.