The Information Technology Working Party exchanges ideas and information related to information technology for use in transfusion medicine
Chairperson and committee
Chairperson: Karen Moniz (USA)
Vice Chair: Rishiraj Sinha (India)
Taskforce Chairs
- Wayne Bolton (Australia), RFID Task Force Chair
- Karen Moniz (USA) Traceability Task Force Chair
- Jennifer Davies (UK), Education Task Force Chair
- Jolanta Antioniewicz-Papis (Poland), ICCBBA TAG Representative
- Paul Ashford (UK), Traceability Task Force Chair
Membership
The Working Party has 26 active members from 12 countries. 2 new members were welcomed in the reporting period. Countries represented are Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico
Meetings
- A hybrid meeting was held in Milan in May 2025.
- In addition to the hybrid meeting, virtual meetings were held in April and October 2025, January and January and March 2026.
- Key topics included updates on the RFID guidelines, development of a guideline on external electronic communication of transfusion traceability information, and potential opportunities to collaborate with other working parties.
- The interface task force has been replaced by the interoperability task force.
Activities during the period
- The major project this year has been the development of the Guideline on External Electronic Communication of Transfusion Traceability Information. This was submitted to Vox Sanguinis and has been accepted for publication.
- Members of the IT WP have collaborated with the Haemovigilance Working Party on a workshop for the 2026 Annual Meeting.
- Updates to the RFID guidelines have been ongoing.
- A poster, Electronic Exchange of Transfusion Medicine Information, collaboratively developed by K Moniz, R Sinha, T Mapako, W Bolton, and S Butch, was presented at the Milan meeting.
Future Projects
Opportunities for development – The IT WP sees its best opportunities for meaningful work in collaborating with other working parties to enhance interoperability and traceability throughout the immunohematology and cell therapy landscape. Developing education to help membership understand different delivery mechanisms for is also a possibility for the coming year.
Summary
During the 2025–2026 reporting period, the ISBT Information Technology Working Party made strong progress in advancing information technology applications in transfusion medicine. A major achievement was the development of the Guideline on External Electronic Communication of Transfusion Traceability Information, which was accepted for publication in Vox Sanguinis. The Working Party also continued updating the RFID guidelines, presented a collaborative poster at the Milan meeting, and supported planning for a joint workshop with the Haemovigilance Working Party for the 2026 Annual Meeting. Through hybrid and virtual meetings, the group strengthened international collaboration, refined its task force structure, and identified future opportunities to improve interoperability, traceability, and member education across transfusion medicine and related fields.
