Presidents Report

 

Greetings all, and I hope 2023 has been a fantastic and productive year for everyone so far.  As I write this, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has just announced that COVID-19 no longer represents a global public health emergency.  The years of the pandemic were tough and challenging for many.  There was much joy and excitement when the COVID-19 situation improved in 2022, enabling face-to-face meetings such as BLOOD and ISTH to recommence.  I hope that the WHO announcement represents another important milestone on the road to recovery from the pandemic.  While we have to continue to be diligent, the worst may be behind us.  

 

Speaking about BLOOD, the local organising committee (LOC), comprising of James McFadyen and Cherry Keragala, from THANZ are planning an educational and stimulating programme for this year’s conference in the beautiful city of Melbourne in early November.  International speakers that have been confirmed for the meeting include Pantep Angchaisuksiri from Bangkok, Thailand, Jorge di Paola from Washington University, USA and Nicola Mutch from Aberdeen, Scotland.  Together they represent a terrific panel of speakers with expertise in many different areas, from basic science, to clinical management to laboratory aspects of haemostasis and thrombosis.  Dominic Pepperell and Joseph Rigano are also onboard planning the THANZ scientific workshop, carrying on from the success of the workshop in 2022.  Stay tuned for further details on both BLOOD and the THANZ workshop, and I hope to see you all there! 

 

The ISTH congress in Montreal is also around the corner, occurring in a few weeks’ time in late June.  The flight from Australia/New Zealand to the east coast of Canada is one of the world’s longest plane journeys!  The effort to get there and the multiple stopovers will be worth it though 😊. It is always special to meet and catch up with colleagues from around the world and be updated on the latest developments in our field.   The ISTH is actively involved in promoting thrombosis and haemostasis globally.  Cancer associated thrombosis (CAT) has been identified as an important area of focus by the ISTH.  A survey gauging the level of understanding of CAT by patients with cancer and the extent of education of CAT provided to patients has been circulated by THANZ to its members.  The ISTH would very much like more responses from Australia and New Zealand to help with designing educational materials and programmes best suited to address CAT worldwide.  If you can contribute by filling out the survey by the end of June 2023 (it will take about 5 minutes, and patients do not need to have a history of CAT/VTE to participate) and engage with your malignant haematology colleagues about this as well, that would be much appreciated.  Information about the survey is included in this newsletter.

 

Surveys are helpful and an important way to gather information about the variation in resource availability and practice globally in the management of bleeding and clotting disorders.  THANZ has recently circulated surveys on bleeding disorders and anticoagulation dosing.  All efforts to respond to surveys are much appreciated, every bit helps.  So, a big thank you to all who have contributed to the surveys. 

 

Since the last newsletter, the Australia and New Zealand haemostasis and thrombosis community sadly lost a giant of our field, Claire McLintock.  A former ASTH/THANZ and ISTH president, Claire made major contributions in many areas, especially in obstetric haematology and haematology issues related to women’s health.  Claire was a valued colleague and friend to many, and her opinions, generosity, optimism and humour are and will be sorely missed. 

 

Chee Wee Tan

 

Blood

 

Planning for Blood 2023 in Melbourne (Nov 5-8th) is well underway with the local organizing committee working diligently to deliver a diverse, educational and engaging program this year. We are excited and honored to secure several international speakers who are world leaders in their respective areas of research. For THANZ, we are delighted to welcome Prof. Pantep Angchaisuksiri, Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Haemostasis and Thrombosis Unit at Ramathibodi Hospital of Mahidol University, in Bangkok, Thailand. He is also President elect of ISTH and we look forward to hearing his insights on thrombosis and haemostasis related issues in the Asia-Pacific. He will also be joined by Prof. Jorge Di Paola, Professor of Paediatrics and Molecular genetics and Genomics at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, USA, whose expertise includes Von Willebrand disease and platelet genomics. Finally, Professor Nicola Mutch from The Institute of Medical Sciences at the University of Aberdeen will also join us and share her expertise on fibrinolysis, its cellular regulation and how this is altered in certain critical care settings.  

 

As always, the congress will be preceded by the popular THANZ scientific workshop held on Saturday 4th of November which will undoubtedly be heavily subscribed to. We look forward to having our international speakers join our local experts in providing an educational day of scientific, laboratory focused haemostasis and thrombosis content.

 

Abstract submission has been extended and will close on 7 June 2023 (18:00 AEST) and we hope to showcase the fantastic array of thrombosis and haemostasis research being conducted nationally.

 

This year, Blood will run over the Melbourne Cup long weekend and the associated festivities will undoubtedly permeate through to the conference. So make sure you have your best suit and fascinator ready and book your travel and accommodation early to avoid disappointment during one of the highlights of the Melbourne calendar.

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THANZ Workshop

 

Dear Members,

We’re excited to invite you all to the THANZ Workshop which will be held in Melbourne on Saturday 4th November, the day before the main Blood conference begins.

 

This year’s Workshop will have a combination of diverse and interesting topics, including a presentation by an international speaker. The focus of the Workshop will be on topics that matter to you: our community of THANZ scientists, specialists and registrars, and as always it is a fantastic chance to meet up with friends and colleagues from across the country.

 

The THANZ Workshop is a chance for our members to present their work, so we would love to hear from you if there is something you’d like to present. We would be particularly pleased to have our early career lab scientists and registrar members present in front of the supportive THANZ community.

 

If you have an interesting topic on laboratory haemostasis and thrombosis, or integrating clinical and laboratory features, we would love to hear from you. Drop us a line on:

Joseph.Rigano2@nh.org.au,  Dominic.Pepperell@health.wa.gov.au or M.Sarson@thanz.org.au

 

How to register for the Workshop:

  1. If you are also attending the main Blood conference: you will be able to register at the same time for both events- register here
  2. If you are only attending the THANZ Workshop: You will also need to register on the Blood web site (its a simple and strightforward process but here's an explanation of what you need to do- 

    After confirming your consent to Data Processing, enter your personal details. Under Professional Details, please indicate your primary stream of interest as THANZ. Please also mark that you do not require a Blood Pocket Program or a Blood Program Book. After clicking Next, scroll to the bottom of the page to register for a Saturday Workshop. After clicking Next, you will have the option of registering for the THANZ Workshop. Follow the instructions regarding other aspects of your registration (including accommodation and dietary requirements) before proceeding to payment).

We look forward to seeing you there,

Dominic Pepperell

Joe Rigano

 

Click HERE to register for the Workshop

 

Tribute to Claire McLintock

 

As many will recall, Claire McLintock, a past President of our Society and of ISTH, was awarded THANZ honary life membership at the 2022 AGM. Claire sadly passed away at the end of December and as a tribute, a copy of the proposal made by Nicola Eaddy at that time is reproduced here.

 

It gives me great pleasure to propose Dr Claire Mclintock for life membership of THANZ.

Claire is an obstetric physician at National Woman’s Health at Auckland City Hospital. She has a special interest in haematological problems in pregnancy, as well as preeclampsia, maternal morbidity and, obstetric haemorrhage  and Management  of anticoagulation in pregnant women with heart valves.

Her contribution to medicine has already been acknowledged in New Zealand .

Claire became an officer of the NZ order of merit for services to obstetrics and haematology in 2019.

She has contributed both nationally and internationally to haematology and in particular thrombosis and Haemostasis  with membership  and leadership in many societies

Claire is on the council of ISTH and  is its immediate past president 2018-2020, she is past president of the society of obstetric medicine of Australasia and NZ (2008-2010)

And the Australian society of thrombosis and Haemostasis (2009-2011)

 

ISTH tribute

Sage Journals tribute

 
 

International Collaboration Grant

 

The 2023 International Collaboration Grant opened last week. Prepare and submit your application for this Aus$10,000 grant now. The grant aims to facilitate collaborations between our members and Asian colleagues and is open to THANZ members who wish to travel to an institution in a country in Asia to impart specific T&H skills and knowledge; or Non-THANZ members, including early to mid career researchers and physicians, who reside in an Asian country and wish to travel to collaborate with a THANZ member, who has specific expertise in particular aspects of T&H, at their institution, in either Australia or New Zealand. Further details will be emailed to members shortly.

 

Last year the inaugral Grant was awarded to Robyn Devenish for her project 'Improving the Diagnosis, Treatment and Care of Cambodians with Hereditary and Acquired Bleeding Disorders in the Remote South East Province of Kampot'. Robyn has collaborated with colleagues in Cambodia to run a series of Workshops to improve the diagnosis, treatment and care of Cambodians with bleeding disorders in Kampot province and aims to establish the Sonja Kill Memorial Hospital as a referral centre for the diagnosis and treatment of bleeding disorders. 

 

Taken after conference in Kampot

From left to right

Dr Chean Sophal - Haematologist from National Paediatric Hospital

Ms Robyn Devenish - Medical Scientist

Dr Cornelia Haener - CEO of Sonja Kill Memorial Hospital 

Mr Kong Sithan - Haemophilia patient and President of Cambodian Haemophilia Association (CHA)

Mr Sem Samey - Medical Technologist from National Paediatric Hospital 

Mr Noun Vorleak - Father of two haemophilia boys (also vice president of CHA)

 

Lab staff in Kampot, Cambodia

 

Workshop banner

 

Councillor Profile

 

How did you go identifying the latest 2 mystery Council members??

Hand-standing mystery Council member #4 was Jane Mason, and pho eatting mystery Council member #5 was Phil Choi. 

 

2023 Science & Education Funding Round

 

S&E travel and Research Grants

Applications for S&E travel and research grants from the 2023 funding round have now closed and the S&E trustees will be convening shortly to review submissiosns and make some decisions. Good luck to all those who applied.

 
 

Get yourself certified

 

 

Download the flyer here

 

ISTH WTD Survey

 

As part of WTD events, a questionnaire has been designed by ISTH on the topic of cancer associated venous thromboembolism and anticoagulation.  Patients with cancer have a high risk of blood clot formation in their veins or arteries due to the cancer itself and anti-cancer treatments. Patient awareness of these complications is key for prompt recognition of symptoms and signs, risk factors, timely referral to hospital for diagnosis and treatment, as well as for informed discussion with doctors about use of blood thinners for prevention.

 

This questionnaire is intended for patients with cancer and aims at assessing their knowledge and satisfaction about the information received by health-care providers on the potential risks of cancer-associated blood clots and use of blood thinners.

 

Please distribute this survey to your patients with haematological malignancies, as well as to your haematology colleagues and medical oncology colleagues who treat non-haematological malignancies.  The survey can be assessed via the link and QR code on this email.  

 

https://redcap.isth.org/surveys/?s=APAPWWEWRA

 

 

Alternately, the link and QR code are also present in this PowerPoint slide which can also be distributed to patients and colleagues.  

 

You may also wish to share the links to the questionnaire via social media, i.e. Twitter, to help reach as many people as possible.

 
 

Welcome New Members

 

Please welcome new members Jason, Nadi, Elaine, Alex, Megha, Vincent, Halina, Sabine, Jenny, Jerad, Mohzura, Merrilyn, Jasmine, Jemma, Amanda, Alex, Aidan, Cheryl, Tran, Jeremy, Yee-Lin, On- Ki, Anna and Amy
 

Thanks to our Corporate Sponsor - Novo Nordisk

 

Our continued thanks go to Novo Nordisk for their on-going support of THANZ