Twenty-Eighth Annual Symposium

Description
This program is designed to provide attendees with practical information about recent developments, current practices, controversies and laboratory management issues relative to transfusion medicine.

Who Should Attend
This program will be of interest to all healthcare providers who participate in the collection, production, transfusion and monitoring of blood products.

Learning Objectives
Upon the completion of this activity, participants should be able to:

• Describe how a hemovigilance program’s data can be used to improve safety of both blood donors and transfusion recipients.
• Explain the role of nitric oxide’s interactions with red blood cells as it relates to red cell storage and transfusion.
• Describe technologies and applications of blood group genotyping to improve current serologic standards and assess DNA analysis for personalized medication.
• Present a critical review of approaches to mitigate viral transmission of arboviruses to blood recipients.
• Review the role of thrombopoietin in platelet production and discuss thrombopoietin mimetics and their potential adverse effects.
• List the properties, uses and applications of cord blood transplantation.
• Recognize potential adverse consequences of blood products from donors who take probiotics.

Accreditation Statement
This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential Areas and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint sponsorship of the American Red Cross Biomedical Services (ARCBS) and the National Institutes of Health.  ARCBS is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Designation Statement
The American Red Cross Biomedical Services designates this educational activity for a maximum of 5.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s) ™.  Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Disclosure Statement
All faculty participating in ARCBS continuing medical education programs are expected to disclose to learners whether they do or do not have any real or apparent conflicts(s) of interest or other relationships related to the content of their presentation(s).  Faculty are also expected to disclose off-label and/or investigational uses of products under discussion. 

This course is approved for 5.75 contact hours of continuing education by the American Red Cross Biomedical Services SUCCESS CEU Program. The content and views presented in this educational program are those of the faculty and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or recommendations of the American Red Cross.

We gratefully acknowledge The American Fluoroseal Corporation for providing an educational grant in support of this continuing medical education activity.

Registration
Please register before September 1, 2009. After  September 1st, there will only be on-site registration.