asian association of transfusion medicine (aatm) · 2020. 6. 11. · asian association of...

ASIAN ASSOCIATION OF

TRANSFUSION MEDICINE (AATM)

January 2014

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF:

Dr. (Prof.) R.N.Makroo Director & Sr. Consultant, Transfusion Medicine, Molecular

Biology & Transplant Immunology, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals New Delhi India

EDITORIAL BOARD:

Dr. Namal Bandara (Sri Lanka)

Dr. Krishna Sharma (Bhutan) Dr. Mumtaz (Bangladesh) Dr. Rupinder Kaur (India) Dr. Geeta (Nepal)

ASSOCIATE EDITORS:

Dr. Mohit Chowdhry Associate Consultant, Transfusion Medicine, Molecular

Biology & Transplant Immunology, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals New Delhi, India

Dr. Aakanksha Bhatia Sr. Registrar, Transfusion Medicine Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals New Delhi, India

CONTENTS:

EDITORIAL 2

AATM CONFERENCE

3

MINUTES OF THE MEETING

5

PRECONFERENCE CMEs

8

CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS

12

STEM CELL

TRANSPLANTATION: THE

INDIAN SCENARIO: Dr. R.N.

Makroo

17



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EDITORIAL:

Wish you all a Merry Christmas & Happy New year-2014!!

The editorial desk is glad to present this issue of AATM. I am pleased to inform you that

the 9th Annual conference of South Asian Association of Transfusion Medicine

(SAATM) was held from 4-5th October 2013 in Delhi (NCR), India. This conference was

all the more special as the nomenclature of South Asian Association of Transfusion

Medicine (SAATM) was officially changed to Asian Association of Transfusion

Medicine (AATM). The conference saw participation from over 20 countries. Speakers

and chairpersons were carefully selected to represent all participating nations well. I

would like to thank the Organizers, Chairpersons, Speakers and the delegates for making

this conference a grand success. My special thanks to the sponsors without whose

participation this conference would not have been this successful.

This issue of the AATM Newsletter covers the highlights of the Conference and the two

parallel Preconference CMEs. The article which has been chosen for this issue essentially

covers the important aspects of Stem cell Transplantation, wherein I have laid emphasis

on the stem cell transplantation scenario in India. I sincerely hope this issue of AATM

Newsletter would be greeted with an open heart by our beloved readers.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF:

Dr. (Prof.) R.N. Makroo



3

IXTH ANNUAL SAATM CONFERENCE, GURGAON, DELHI (NCR), INDIA,

OCTOBER 3 – 5, 2013

Dear Friends,

I am pleased to inform you that the 9th annual conference of the South Asian Association

of Transfusion Medicine (SAATM) has been completed successfully on 4-5th October

2013 in Delhi (NCR), India. This conference was well attended and delegates from 22

countries participated in the scientific discussions. There were about 87 speakers and

Chairpersons (32 from abroad) who shared their knowledge with delegates. More than

500 delegates registered in the main conference. There were two pre conference

activities; one workshop was fully supported by International Society of Blood

Transfusion (ISBT), Amsterdam and another CME was organized in association with

Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain. I am enclosing few photographs of the

conference. Members of Organizing Committee worked very hard to make this

conference a success. On behalf of the Governing Council of AATM, I profusely thank

all members of Organizing Committee for their sincere hard works. I also take this

opportunity to express our gratitude to ISBT for their support for pre-conference

workshop.

The Annual General Body meeting (AGM) of AATM was held on 4th October 2013 at 5

PM onward. This was the last AGM of SAATM and first AGM of AATM. I am sending

the minutes of the meeting for your reference. Now onward, all communications from the

Secretariat will be sent from this new e-mail ID. Past email ID ([email protected])

mailto:[email protected]



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will be kept activated for another one year. The Joint Secretary of AATM, Dr. Amit

Agarwal has already activated the new website for AATM i.e. www.aatmweb.org. Please

refer to all activities and information to the new website.

With warm regards,

Dr. N. CHOUDHURY

SECRETARY GENERAL,

ASIAN ASSOCIATION OF TRANSFUSION MEDICINE

http://www.aatmweb.org/



5

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF 9th AATM ANNUAL GENERAL BODY

MEETING (AGM) HELD AT DELHI (NCR) ON 4TH OCTOBER 2013.

The ninth Annual General Body meeting (AGM) of the South Asian Association of

Transfusion Medicine (SAATM) was held on the 4th of October 2013 in the conference

venue of the 9th AATM conference held in hotel Crowne Plaza, Delhi (NCR), India from

5 PM onward. AATM members from seven countries attended this AGM. The meeting

was presided over by the President of AATM, Dr. Ananda Gunasekara. This AGM was

the last AGM of South Asian Association of Transfusion Medicine (SAATM) and the

first AGM of Asian Association of Transfusion Medicine (AATM). The AGM started

with a warm welcome note from the President and it was conducted as per agenda. The

following points were discussed, debated and agreed upon by members present in the

AGM meet as per the agenda that circulated about four weeks before the AGM:

1. Approval of the minutes of the meeting of 8th AGM: The minutes of the meeting of

8th AGM of SAATM held on 7th December, 2012 in the venue of 8th annual conference

of SAATM in Colombo, Sri Lanka, was approved.

2. Member’s directory: Some members suggested to develop AATM member’s

directory and to be distributed among all the members. It was decided that each country

chapter will update their member’s contact information including e mail IDs. All the

members name, institute & e mail ID will be included in the directory but not the phone

numbers. Once this exercise is completed, it will be put on AATM website.

3. List of members: All the new memberships were approved.



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4. New nomenclature: The decision to change nomenclature of South Asian Association

of Transfusion Medicine (SAATM) to Asian Association of Transfusion Medicine

(AATM) was approved in the last AGM held in Colombo on 7th December 2012. The

Secretary General informed members that official formalities of formation of AATM

have been completed, new PAN number (for tax) received and a new bank a/c had been

opened. Some members suggested that the organization logo could be changed. It was

decided that the changing of the logo is a major issue and sudden change might confuse

AATM members and peers. Therefore, one competition would have to be conducted

among members to decide the best of a logo and a conscious decision will have to be

taken about logo change by the Governing Council.

5. Signature of coordinators in conference/ CME certificate: One member suggested

inclusion of local coordinator’s signature in the certificate of attendance of the

conference/ CME/ workshop. It was accepted and decided to be implemented from next

conference.

6. Future Conferences: The President suggested that minimum standards should be put

in place for future AATM Annual conferences. It was advised that the conference activity

should be centralized like ISBT. Tenth AATM conference will be held in Kathmandu,

Nepal and Dr. Manita Rajkarnikar (Chairperson, AATM Nepal chapter) will be the nodal

person. It will be tentatively held in November 2014. The 11th AATM conference will be

held in Karachi, Pakistan in 2015 and Dr. Farrukh Hasan (Chairperson, Pakistan Chapter)

will be the nodal person.

7. Life membership fees: It was observed that some members failed to renew annual

membership due to multiple reasons which led a barrier to become a life member. It was

discussed about option of penalty fees for the members who have already paid two

consecutive years but failed to pay on third year. In that situation, members will pay a

penalty fee of Rs. 800 and wait for the third year. At the end of that stipulated period, the

member can pay life membership fees and get enroll as life member.



7

8. Ongoing AATM programs: AATM country chapters were requested to coordinate

with AATM International for all ongoing program implementation like wet-workshops,

EQAS program and Fellowship program. All country chapters are autonomous under the

AATM constitution and they are free to manage their own program. They are requested

to adhere to schedule program like number of wet workshops and enrolling for available

EQAS program. All are requested to send

Information to headquarter so that information can be posted to AATM website.

9. The distant learning program: The Autonomous University of Barcelona (AUB) is

going to start a distant learning course on cell and tissue therapy. Dr. Latha Jagannathan

who was coordinating this task explained about the need of the course in Asian

Countries. This will be a certificate course offered by this university with Rajiv Gandhi

University at Bangalore, India. Dr. Latha and Dr. Anupam Verma will finalize the topics

covered, fees & other important matters. They are requested to put a deadline for that.

10. AATM Website: The new website www.aatmweb.org will be activated soon & will

be linked to the old one also. Dr. Amit Agarwal explained about the website.

11. AATM News Letter: Dr. R.N Makroo, Editor of the AATM News Letter will be

sending the e-newsletters as before and will make it regular. The possibility of starting a

journal will also be explored.

12. Audited a/c of SAATM: SAATM financial audited account was presented by Dr. N

Choudhury & was approved.

The meeting ended with a vote of thanks to the Chair.

Dr. N. Choudhury

Secretary General, Asian Association of Transfusion Medicine



8

PRE CONFERENCE CMEs OF 9TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF AATM

Pre Conference CME of 9th

Annual Conference of SAATM on

“Cell and Tissue Therapy”

Date: 3rd October 2013 (9.00 AM to 4.00 PM)

Venue: Meditorium; Fortis Memorial Research Institute,

Gurgaon, Delhi (NCR)

&

Pre Conference CME of 9th

Annual Conference of SAATM on

“Transfusion & Transplantation”

Date: 3rd October 2013 (8.00 AM to 4.15 PM)

Venue: Orchid Hall, Hotel Crowne Plaza, Gurgaon



9

PRE CONFERENCE CME ON “CELL AND TISSUE THERAPY”

As a part of the 9th Annual SAATM conference, two preconference CMEs were organised

on the 3rd of October 2013. The first CME on: “Cell and Tissue Therapy” took place at

Meditorium, Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurgaon.

The CME covered most important aspects of modern transfusion science involving

cellular therapies. With a fine blend of national and international faculty and a host of

very interesting and informative lectures, the CME was well received by all delegates.

Besides emphasising the current concepts and future trends of this emerging branch the

CME also focussed at promoting educational ties globally. With presentations from

representatives of the “Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB)” who created the

Chair of Transfusion Medicine and Cellular and Tissue Therapies (CMT3), emphasis

was laid on the initiation of a distant learning course in transfusion medicine. The

concept was positively received and thoroughly discussed in regards to its practicality

and feasibility in the Indian scenario. The various challenges anticipated and the ways of

overcoming the same were debated with all experts giving their opinion and views in an

interesting panel discussion towards the end of the sessions.



10

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE PRECONFERENCE CME ON: “CELL AND TISSUE THERAPY”



11

PRE CONFERENCE CME ON “TRANSFUSION & TRANSPLANTATION”

The second Pre-Conference CME on “Transfusion & Transplantation” was held at Hotel

Crowne Plaza, Gurgaon.

The CME was in collaboration and sponsored by the International Society of Blood Transfusion

(ISBT).

The highlight of this CME was the „Hands on‟ workshop which included basic and conceptual

methodology of Histocompatibility testing involving solid organ transplant and Bone Marrow

transplant. Various workstations were setup with technical staff demonstrating the various steps

in testing.

The Chairpersons of the sessions at the CME included Dr.Vivek Ranjan, Dr. Neelam Marwaha,

Dr. Sitalakshmi, and Dr. Sangeeta Misra.

The eminent speakers of the CME were Dr Kuruppu, Dr. Daniel, Dr V. Raina & Dr. Divye.

The CME was received with equal enthusiasm, both by medical and paramedical delegates.



12

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE PRE CONFERENCE CME ON: TRANSFUSION & TRANSPLANTATION



13

9th

ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF

THE ASIAN ASSOCIATION OF

TRANSFUSION MEDICINE

The 9th Annual conference of South Asian

Association of Transfusion Medicine (SAATM)

was successfully organized from 4-5th October

2013 in Delhi (NCR), India. This conference was well attended and appreciated by all

present. Representative of transfusion fraternities from various AATM countries

participated in the congress sharing their knowledge and experiences with us. Speakers

from abroad and from India enriched us with their lectures and discussions. Eminent

members of the Indian transfusion fraternity were among the dignitaries and chairpersons

as well. The scientific programme was well planned and covered a large number of

important and relevant topics pertaining to contemporary and conventional transfusion

practice as well emphasising on future trends.

This conference marks the birth of Asian Association of Transfusion Medicine

(AATM) a changed nomenclature of the South Asian Association of Transfusion

Medicine (SAATM).

The two pre conference CMEs organised on the 3rd of October, one at the Crowne Plaza

and the other at Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurgaon were equally well received.

These provided a good warm up for the upcoming conference.

The opening plenary session on the first day of the conference saw representative from

SAATM member countries provide an insight into the status of their respective national

transfusion services. This was followed by a number of interesting lectures, seminars and

panel discussions running in parallel in 2 halls.



14

The second day of the conference was marked by a host of enlightening seminars on

NAT, TTI, and Immunohematology etc. Several interesting free papers were also

presented by young researchers. The conference was all in all an academic delight.

Tireless efforts put in by the Organizing Committee were evident by the flawless

execution of the programme.

Fun and frolic prevailed at the inaugural ceremony on the 3rd and the gala dinner on the

5th of October. The cultural programme incorporated the vivacity of India and was

thoroughly enjoyed by all delegates.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 9th ANNUAL CONFERENCE OFAATM



15

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE CONFERENCE..



16




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18

STEM CELL TRANSPLANTATION: THE INDIAN SCENARIO

Dr. (Prof.) R.N. Makroo

Director & Sr. Consultant

Department Of Transfusion Medicine

Transplant Immunology & Molecular Biology

Indraprastha Apollo Hospital

New Delhi, India

India's first successful allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) was done on 20th March

1983 at Tata Memorial Hospital on a nine-year-old girl with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia. Our

country has come a long way since then. With several centers now performing this therapy, we

are now treating patients not only from India but also from neighboring countries like Pakistan,

Afghanistan and Middle East.

India has a population of over one billion people, where a mere 5% of the individuals can afford

treatment abroad. The rest 95% can either afford a transplant at reasonable prices in India or if

provided by the state. The stem cell transplant programme in India is faced with several

challenges. These include the limited laboratory facilities for HLA typing, which are available in

tertiary centre & private labs only. Some labs are still using serology. Donor registries are almost

defunct and private cord blood banks are limited and present only in larger cities.

A hospital performing BMT needs good infrastructure with dedicated HEPA filtered transplant

units are must considering the poor environment, competent & dedicated medical and nursing

staff. State of the art laboratory and transfusion services and adequate paramedical support are

also required. Existing centres need to focus on the development of regimen/strategies tailored to

our needs. Patient related problems like non compliance, high levels of antimicrobial resistance,

poor quality of environment where they reside, financial constraints and lack of awareness and

understanding of the disease and treatment modalities are also a major challenge.



19

Limited formally trained personnel including medical, paramedical and nursing staff are a cause

of concern and Stem cell research and Gene therapy are almost nonexistent in India.

Keeping these limitations in mind we have made a humble beginning and with a huge pool of

patients in need for a transplant our transplant programme in the country is on a uphill track.

THE MEASURE OF A LIFE, AFTER ALL, IS NOT ITS DURATION, BUT IT’S DONATION. DONATE BLOOD SAVE LIVES.



20

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS TO OUR SPONSORS FOR THE

CONFERENCE

Terumo Penpol limited

Roche Diagnostic India Pvt. Ltd

Novartis Diagnostics

Fresenius Kabi India Private Ltd.

Cerus International

Abbott

Orhto-Clinic Diagnostics

J Mitra & Company Pvt. Ltd

Diagast

Immucor Gamma

HLL Lifecare Ltd.

Remi Sales & Engg. Ltd

Insignia International

ISBT

SR Biohealth

Plasmogen

Bio-Rad

Hemonetics Corp

Labtop/Skylab

Tulip Diagnostics

Easy software

Hemocue

Hemogenomics

ThermoFisher

Span Healthcare



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ANNOUNCEMENTS

Xth ANNUAL AATM CONFERENCE,

PLACE: KATHMANDU, NEPAL

DATE: 18-19th

September 2014

NODAL PERSON: DR. MANITA RAJKARNIKAR

(CHAIRPERSON, AATM

NEPAL CHAPTER)

PHONE NO: 9779851084506

EMAIL ID:[email protected]

[email protected]

33rd INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF ISBT

PLACE: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA

DATE: 31st MAY 2014 to 5

th JUNE 2014

AABB ANNUAL MEETING

PLACE: PHILADELPHIA, PA

DATE: OCTOBER 25-28, 2014



asian association of transfusion medicine (aatm) · 2020. 6. 11. · asian association of...

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