AABB is an international association of individuals and institutions involved in transfusion medicine, cellular therapies, and related fields. The organization hosts an annual conference for members to discuss their findings during the past year and present new products and services.
The 2020 AABB Annual Meeting will take place on October 3 to 5, 2020 — and subject matter experts from New York Blood Center Enterprises (NYBCe) will be in attendance, as usual. However, this year’s event will be virtual due to the current COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, the conference will still offer plenty of opportunities to engage with featured speakers and other attendees who can provide valuable information about their respective fields.
What Is the AABB Annual Meeting?
The AABB Annual Meeting brings together the latest practice-changing findings and resources in blood and biotherapies. Colleagues from around the world connect each October to network, learn and advance in their field.
This conference features many live and on-demand sessions on a variety of scientific topics. Attendees of the AABB Annual Meeting include the following professionals in transfusion medicine and related fields:
- Administrators
- Nurses
- Physicians
- Other Healthcare Providers
- Researchers
- Medical Technologists
- Scientists
The Annual Meeting typically features an exhibit hall with many industry partners presenting their products and services. Attendees have unlimited access to this hall, which is searchable by keys such as author, title and subject. A networking lounge allows attendees to communicate directly with speakers and other attendees. They can also reach out to their favorite authors through the community message boards.
These activities leave attendees with many of the tools they need to succeed in their field. For example, some of them offer continuing medical education (CME) and continuing education (CE) credits, allowing attendees to integrate new skills into their work. They can also gain knowledge of the latest technology and popular topics for their profession.
What Kind of Events Can You Expect at AABB 2020?
The events at AABB 2020 are all virtual, including exhibit halls, CME/CE sessions, workshops and networking opportunities. View the 2020 “Schedule-at-a-Glance.”. You can also see a more detailed version of the schedule, including descriptions of each event, on AABB’s website.
Attendees can access this material live through a state-of-the-art meeting platform that provides an innovative learning environment with intuitive navigation and reliable functionality. For example, attendees who want to network with company representatives or subject matter experts can book a time to meet with them. Attendees will have 24-access to the virtual platform during the event, allowing them to engage and learn at their own pace. They’ll also be able to access the platform for the month after the conference ends. Additionally, on-demand access to the material will remain available for two years.
Everyone should participate in the live events if possible, as this approach provides the most interactive experience with exhibitors, speakers and other attendees. For instance, exhibitors will occupy their booths during the hours the exhibit hall is open and be available for live chats. Thus, October 3 through 5 are also the best time to meet and network with other attendees since that is when most of them will be online.
Attendees can visit a virtual “lobby” between breaks in the live sessions. The lobby will have everything from an information center to sponsors all in one centralized location.
It’s important to note that attendees can only sign on with one unique email address at a time, but they can navigate to anywhere they like during that period. Registered attendees will receive a unique link to the virtual platform via email before the first session starts on October 3. This link will remain the same through the conference, which registrants can’t share.
How Can You Engage With NYBCe at AABB 2020?
Subject matter experts from NYBCe are looking forward to participating in many virtual events at AABB 2020. This year, the organization is expected to have 55 representatives at the conference, including 11 speakers, 45 authors, and 9 program chairs. These subject matter experts will also be participating in a total of 13 oral abstract sessions, 20 posters sessions, 7 education sessions, and 5 on-demand sessions.
Several staff members will be speaking in continuing education sessions. For example, Dr. Larry Luchsinger, Assistant Member of the Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute and the Director of the NYBC Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell (iPSC) Bank, will be featured in “AM20-12 – Mechanisms and Technologies Towards Expanding Hematopoietic Stem Cells for Transplantation” on October 3, 2020. On October 4, 2020, Avital Mendelson will be speaking in a session AM20-24 titled “Innovative Alternatives to Platelet Transfusion,” which will draw a distinction between new megakaryocyte or platelet-based cellular products and the traditional platelet transfusion products.
NYBCe authors will also be presenting posters throughout AABB 2020. Donna Strauss, M.S., and Beth Shaz, MD, former Executive Vice President and Chief Medical & Scientific Officer of NYBCe, for example, will be presenting “P-TS-25 – Implementation of 7-Day Single Donor Platelets (SDPs) in a Hospital Transfusion Service” alongside Jessic L. Jacobson, M.D. of New York University and Pauline James of Bellevue Hospital-NYU LMC. This highly anticipated abstract explores the cost and implementation of 7-Day SDPs and how these products may help facilities more efficiently manage their inventories.
Also of note, Jed B. Gorlin, M.D., M.B.A.; Nancy L Van Buren, M.D.; Vanessa Reynolds, M.L.T.; and Angela Engblom, M.L.T. of NYBC will be presenting a poster on their abstract “P-BB-21 – Educational Information Provided with Discount Coupon for Iron Supplements Encourages Coupon Redemption…..Maybe.” This abstract explores the relationship between iron supplement voucher distribution and redemption when paired with educational materials at 3 NYBC locations.
NYBCe’s official schedule of events will be posted on their website soon. In addition to these conference activities, the organization will also be offering additional ways to engage with the organization by sharing many resources online. For example, they will be publishing an archive of presentations and posters from the AABB 2019 conference in San Antonio, Texas. They will also upload supplemental research, as well as the AABB 2020 posters when they become available.
Fill out this form to get a first look at these new resources as soon as they’re posted on NYBCe’s site. Registration for the 2020 Annual Meeting is also open and includes access to all sessions.