5 February 2020 01:30pm - 02:30pm Australia/Sydney
As Australia becomes more ethnically diverse it is important the donor panel reflects this diversity in order to meet the future transfusion needs of the population, particularly important for rare or unusual blood types that may not otherwise be represented in our current donor panel.
Lifeblood's Donor Research team INROADS project recently completed a study to test donors' responses to being asked about their ethnicity, as the donor questionnaire does not currently seek this information.
Knowing donors' ethnic ancestries will help Lifeblood to better match donors with patients, as donors with the same ethnic background are more likely to be a close match.
| Presenter: | Dr Luke Gahan, Research Fellow, Clinical Services and Research, Australian Red Cross Lifeblood. |
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4 March 2020 02.00pm - 03.00pm Australia/Sydney
A number of disorders, such as sickle cell anaemia, are triggered by defective adult haemoglobin. Sickle cell anaemia and beta thalassemia are the most common single-gene genetic disorders in the world, affecting millions of people, with enormous costs to health systems. Research has solved the 50-year-old mystery about how these mutations - which are naturally carried by a small percentage of people - operate and alter the expression of human genes.
Discovering the mutation responsible means that CRISPR gene editing whereby natural mutations are introduced. These can be used to turn on beneficial genes or repress harmful genes and, for example, boost red cell production of fetal haemoglobin.
With this discovery, there is potentially a way to fast-track the development of new therapies for sickle cell disease and other inherited conditions using CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing.
| Presenter: | Prof Merlin Crossley, Staff Specialist Haematologist Pathology North, John Hunter Children's Hospital, Calvary Mater Newcastle. |
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April 2020
Optimal transfusion support in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) has not been established and it remains unclear whether different red blood cell (RBC) transfusion policies could modify clinical outcomes, including quality of life (QoL).
The findings from REDDS-1 provides new data on the effects of different RBC transfusion thresholds on patient-centred outcomes and blood utilisation. They support the feasibility and rationale of progressing to a definitive trial, and further preparatory work (REDDS-2) is underway.
| Presenter: | Dr Zoe McQuilten, Consultant Haematologist, Monash Health, Victoria |
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June 2020
This presentation will provide an overview of the resources developed by the Lifeblood Transfusion Policy and Education (TPE) across the different career segments and explain how they contribute to patient blood management (PBM).
The TPE team provides a supporting role in patient care through development and delivery of traditional and innovative education and clinical practice improvement support tools to enhance transfusion and PBM practice.
| Presenter: | Dr Ben Saxon, Medical Director, Policy and Transfusion, Australian Red Cross Lifeblood. |
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July 2020
Blood transfusion in Australia is extremely safe by international standards.
With respect to infectious disease transmission, the highest remaining risk is from bacterial contamination of platelets. Platelets are stored at room temperature, providing a relatively favourable environment for replication of bacterial contaminants introduced during collection or processing. Shelf life is limited to only 5 days, chiefly to reduce the risk of septic transfusion reactions.
The result is a significant number of platelet units which are discarded despite being otherwise safe and clinically effective. The presentation will give an overview of current approaches to bacterial contamination screening in Australia, alternative approaches used internationally, and options to extend shelf life while maintaining or improving safety.
| Presenter: | Mr Michael Thomas, Microbiology Medical Specialist, Australian Red Cross Lifeblood. |
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12 August 2020 01:30pm - 02:30pm Australia/Sydney
Transfusion Practitioner (TP) is a term originating in the UK, however in Australia these positions are usually known as transfusion nurse, transfusion safety/quality officer, PBM nurse/coordinator or blood management nurse. The session will cover the diverse activities of the role and how these lead to improved practice and ultimately improved patient safety.
| Presenter: | Ms Linley Bielby, Program Manager Blood Matters, Australian Red Cross Lifeblood. |
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2 September 2020 01:30pm - 02:30pm Australia/Sydney
| Presenter: | Ms Rhonda Holdsworth, National Manager, Transplantation and Immunogenetics Services, Australian Red Cross Lifeblood. |
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14 October 2020 01:30pm - 02:30pm Australia/Sydney
For Lifeblood, providing a safe and secure blood supply is paramount, however, this must balance the effective use of healthcare resources. A key principle is keeping risks as low as reasonably achievable and risk tolerability is a vital element in achieving this. The Alliance of Blood Operators (ABO) Risk Based Decision Making (RBDM) Framework was developed as a structured and systematic process to ensure emerging blood safety risks take into account not only blood safety but operational, economic and societal factors to ensure. This presentation will go through recent examples of how the RBDM has been used by Lifeblood and highlight current risk tolerability for transfusion-transmitted infections.
| Presenter: | Dr Veronica Hoad, Public Health Physician, Clinical services and Research, Australian Red Cross Lifeblood. |
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November 2020
What actually happens in neonatal units when the decision to transfuse blood products is made? How are these decisions made - do clinicians really follow the guidelines? How many newborn babies receive blood products? Has use changed over time? And what about transfusion-associated necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) - is this a true entity?
| Presenter: | Dr Amy Keir, Consultant Neonatologist, Women's and Children's Hospital. |
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13 February 2019 01:30pm - 02:30pm Australia/Sydney
This session will discuss the considerations to be made when transfusing neonates, particularly for those needing intensive care management.
| Presenter: | Dr Bryony Ross, Staff Specialist Haematologist Pathology North, John Hunter Children's Hospital, Calvary Mater Newcastle. |
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13 March 2019 01:30pm - 02:30pm Australia/Sydney
This session will discuss the impact of red cell transfusion in improving patient functional status in chronic disease.
| Presenter: | Dr Philip Crispin, Consultant Haematologist, Canberra Hospital. |
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17 April 2019 01:30pm - 02:30pm Australia/Sydney
This session will provide an update for the study 'Haemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn (HDFN) associated with blood groups: Digital PCR for this "atypical” panel for blood group typing'. The study recruits isoimmunised mothers from around Australia to assess the reliability and clinical utility of these 'in-house' non-invasive prenatal tests.
| Presenter: | Helen O'Brien, Senior Research Assistant, Australian Red Cross Blood Service. |
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May 2019
This session will review the history of patient blood management and transfusion medicine from 1880 to 2018.
| Presenter: | Professor James Isbister, Clinical Professor of Medicine, Sydney Medical School. |
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12 June 2019 01:30pm - 02:30pm Australia/Sydney
This session will discuss the importance of genomic data in understanding blood group antigen profiles for Indigenous Australians and how this may guide transfusion practice.
| Presenter: | Maree Perry, Research assistant, Australian Red Cross Blood Service. |
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10 July 2019 01:30pm - 02:30pm Australia/Sydney
This session will present the role a Milk Bank plays and the processes taken to establish the service.
| Presenter: | Stuart Chesneau, Director, Innovation and Commercial Strategy, Australian Red Cross Blood Service. |
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This session will be prerecorded and released on 14 August 2019
Granulocytes may be beneficial in selected patients. This session will discuss the indications, pitfalls, benefits and controversies surrounding granulocyte transfusions.
| Presenter: | Dr Kobie (Jacoba) von Wielligh, Transfusion Medicine Specialist, Pathology Services, Australian Red Cross Blood Service. |
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11 September 2019 01:30pm - 02:30pm Australia/Sydney
This session will discuss the increasing use of faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) in treating gastrointestinal conditions. Collection and preparation of FMT material is a developing area but regulatory and bureaucratic issues remain unresolved.
| Presenter: | Michael Thomas, Microbiology Medical Specialist, Australian Red Cross Blood Service. |
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16 October 2019
When mistakes happen in healthcare there can be terrible consequences. This session will discuss the investigation of errors in a no blame manner and ways to support staff when things go wrong.
| Presenter: | Dr Nolan McDonnell, Clinical Associate Professor, King Edward Memorial Hospital. |
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13 November 2019
Emerging infectious diseases continue to be a major concern because of their potential consequences - this session will outline what they are, give some examples and explain why they continue to emerge.
| Presenter: | Professor Iain Gosbell, National Donor and Product Safety Specialist, Australian Red Cross Blood Service. |
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14 February 2018 01:30pm - 02:30pm Australia/Sydney
This session will report the results for the TRANSFUSE-RCT, the multi-centre, randomised, controlled trial, testing the effect of the freshest available red blood cell (RBC) unit compared to standard practice, on mortality in critically ill patients who require RBC transfusion.
| Presenter: | Dr Zoe McQuilten, Consultant Haematologist, Senior Research Fellow, Monash University. |
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