If you’ve ever wondered why the National Hemophilia Foundation (NHF) and the bleeding disorders community make such a big deal out of the importance of blood safety, some of the history of our organization’s vigilance was explained in the historic educational session, “Celebrating 20 years of Blood Safety and the Ricky Ray Act,” at NHF’s Annual Meeting, “Nothing About Us Without Us,” in Washington, DC, September 18-20, 2014.
To a packed audience, such power brokers as Donna Shalala, PhD, former Health and Human Services Secretary; consumer Dana Kuhn, PhD; Wendy Selig, former assistant to Rep. Porter Goss (R-FL); Bruce Lesley, former legislative assistant to Sen. Bob Graham (D-FL); and Michael Stoto, PhD, former Director of the Institute of Medicine Division of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention—all spoke on their role in the process of bringing blood safety issues to light and ensuring that this community would never be subjected to inadequate blood screening or unsafe products. They also discussed the passage of the Ricky Ray Hemophilia Relief Fund Act of 1998, which compensated individuals and family members who inadvertently contracted HIV/AIDS through contaminated factor products.
If you missed the session or want to relive it, now’s your chance. Through the technology of live-streaming, NHF in a collaborative co-sponsorship with the Hemophilia Federation of America (HFA) captured the entire session on video.
We’ve collected an array of interesting stories and colorful photos from the NHF Daily newspaper for this electronic issue. Read highlights of NHF's 66th Annual Meeting, "Nothing About Us Without Us," September 18-20, 2014, and start planning for our 67th in Dallas in 2015.
