Featured News

The Hemophilia and Thrombosis Research Society (HTRS) bestowed its Lifetime Achievement Award on long-time researcher and clinician Louis M. Aledort, MD. He received the award at the HTRS and North American Specialized Coagulation Laboratory Association Scientific Symposium on Friday, April 16, 2010, in Chicago, IL.

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic (MC) in Rochester, MN, published a retrospective study in March of circumcision in patients with bleeding disorders. The purpose of the study was to examine the outcomes of circumcisions performed on patients who were evaluated at MC to determine the extent of related complications and create guidelines for clinical management.

Grifols USA recently announced the availability of the Mix2Vial™ filter transfer set for the reconstitution and administration of Grifols’ coagulation therapies. The set is a plastic, needle-free transfer device with a built-in 15-micron filter designed to be used with the Sterile Water for Injection diluent packaged with Grifols’ coagulation products.

As a member of the Plasma Users Coalition (PUC) in the U.S., the National Hemophilia Foundation (NHF) has responded to a call for support of The Dublin Consensus Statement on Vital Issues Relating to the Collection of Blood and Plasma and the Manufacture of Plasma Products.

Earlier this year, the Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association (PPTA) approved a draft form of the document, “Recovered Plasma Specification,” and posted it for industry and public comment.

In March, the American Pain Foundation (APF) announced that several provisions from its National Pain Care Policy Act were included in the healthcare reform bill signed into law by President Obama in March. Pain affects more than 76 million people in the United States, including those with bleeding disorders.

On April 1, 2010, Governor John E. Baldacci of Maine signed into law LD 1620, An Act to Protect Health Care Consumers from Catastrophic Debt.  This new law will prohibit annual and lifetime limits on most individual and group health policies issued or renewed by health plans on or after January 1, 2011.

Robert Janco, MD, passed away on March 9 after a short but aggressive illness. He had a wealth of experience in the diagnosis and clinical management of adults and children with congenital bleeding disorders.