WMDA-NetCord & FACT Events at the Inaugural Cord Blood Connect International Congress Were a Success
The WMDA and FACT hosted a Cord Blood Day at the 2018 Cord Blood Connect International Congress in Miami, Florida on September 14. Over 50 members of the cord blood community from fourteen different countries attended. The day included topics such as global perspectives of cord blood transplants, ethical dilemmas in cord blood banking, common FACT-NetCord accreditation citations, and an overview of the WMDA cord blood bank survey. Breakout sessions in the afternoon included a FACT inspector training track and a WMDA-NetCord & FACT cord blood quality boot camp track.
The WMDA and FACT were honored to have Dr. Eliane Gluckman in attendance at the WMDA-NetCord & FACT Cord Blood Day. She performed the first successful human umbilical cord blood transplant and, with colleague Hal Broxmeyer, PhD, successfully showed that unrelated cord blood could be used as a source of hematopoietic stem cells. Dr. Gluckman received the first Cord Blood Association (CBA) Lifetime Achievement Award, celebrating the 30th anniversary of that event.
In addition to the WMDA-NetCord & FACT Cord Blood Day, FACT welcomed visitors to its exhibit booth and hosted the first Regenerative Medicine InterCHANGE, during which several societies working to advance regenerative medicine discussed their initiatives and current challenges in the regenerative medicine field.
All events were successful and FACT looks forward to the next Cord Blood Connect International Congress September 13-15, 2019, in Miami Beach!
Drs. Eliane Gluckman and Joanne Kurtzberg at the WMDA-NetCord & FACT Cord Blood Day
Dr. Joanne Kurtzberg and the first successful cord blood transplant recipient, Matthew Farrow, honored Dr. Gluckman with the CBA Lifetime Achievement Award.
