From Central Office
Awards and Prizes to be awarded at ISBT Milan 2025
ISBT Awards 2025
The ISBT Award is granted to persons who have made a significant contribution to transfusion medicine and science, particularly in education. The decision to grant the ISBT Award is the privilege of the ISBT Executive Board of Directors. Two ISBT Awards will be presented in Milan, to Sandra Nance and Paolo Rubello.
Sandra Taddie Nance
Sandy has been an ISBT member since 1998 and has always been very actively involved. She was chair of the Rare Donor working party from 2004-2014 and initiated the formation of the ISBT WP for Immunohematology in 2013, serving as its first chair. She was a member of the Global Blood Safety WP from 2012-2022, serving as its secretary 2016 – 2018. She currently serves on the Standing Committee of the Academy and is very active in producing education material in the form of case studies and webinars. True to her character, she joined the new ISBT Mentoring Program at its start in 2024. From 2011-2021, she was the Editor-in-chief of the peer-reviewed journal, Immunohematology, a journal that specialises in education within the field of blood group serology and genetics.
Since her retirement as the Senior Director, Immunohematology Reference Laboratories for the American Red Cross Blood Services in 2019, Sandy Nance has remained very active in the field. She continues to work as Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Division of Transfusion Medicine & Therapeutic Pathology, University of Pennsylvania, but also takes time as an American Red Cross volunteer and more recently, works together with her dog as an accredited therapy dog. This last qualification demonstrates so clearly this nominee’s dedication to helping others.
Vox Sanguinis Best Paper Prize 2024
Each year at the ISBT congress in June (either International or European Regional) the Vox Sanguinis best paper prize is awarded. The winning paper is selected by the Jean Julliard committee from a shortlist, compiled by the Vox Sanguinis section editors, of excellent papers published in Vox during the previous year calendar year.
Group picture of the winner of the 2024 Vox Sanguinis Best Paper Prize
The 2024 prize to be presented in Milan to Philippe Vandekerckhove on behalf of the authors of the paper Effects of plasmapheresis frequency on health status and exercise performance in men: A randomized controlled trial, Alexandre Mortier, Jina Khoudary, Sophie van Dooslaer de Ten Ryen, Camille Lannoy, Nicolas Benoit, Nancy Antoine, Sylvie Copine, Hans Van Remoortel, Philippe Vandekerckhove, Veerle Compernolle, Louise Deldicque
Paolo Rebulla
Paolo Rebulla, MD graduated in Milan, in Medicine and Surgery in 1973. Dr Rebulla holds a specialty in Clinical and Laboratory Hematology and in Immunohematology. He directed the Service of Transfusion Medicine, Cell Therapy and Cryobiology of the Foundation Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico Hospital in Milan, Italy from 2005 to 2013.
A member of scientific societies in the area of transfusion, hematology and transplantation, Dr Rebulla is involved in biomedical and biotechnological research, with particular reference to platelet transfusion of patients suffering from blood diseases, cell cryopreservation and cellular therapy. He is the author or co-author of around 300 scientific publications, 246 of which are registered on PubMed. Dr Rebulla is currently working on the development of novel reagents and biopharmaceuticals from umbilical cord blood.
