News and events

July 23, 2024

ICTMG Annual Activity Report & ISBT Journal Club

The International Collaboration for Transfusion Medicine Guidelines’ annual activity report for 2023-2024 is now available for download. To access this publication, please see our About page.

Did you miss the July 17th ISBT Journal Club webinar on "The 2024 Guideline on Use of Intravenous Albumin from the International Collaboration for Transfusion Medicine Guidelines (ICTMG)"? You have another chance to view this webinar. The webinar recording is now available on the ISBT website. For further information on the webinar and to access the recording, please see our Intravenous Albumin page.

July 04, 2024

ICTMG @ ISBT Journal Club

Join the ISBT Journal Club on July 17, 2024 for a webinar "The 2024 Guideline on Use of Intravenous Albumin From the International Collaboration for Transfusion Medicine Guidelines (ICTMG)" presented by Dr. Sheharyar Raza and Dr. Jeannie Callum. They will be presenting ICTMG recommendations for the use of intravenous albumin and reviewing the appraisal of existing evidence used to derive the 2024 ICTMG intravenous albumin guidelines.

June 11, 2024

ISBT 38th Annual Congress – Workshops and Poster Presentation

Are you going to the ISBT 38th Annual Congress? Do you want to expand your knowledge in the field of guideline development and implementation? Make sure to circle your calendars for two upcoming workshops at the Annual Congress featuring presenters who are also members of ICTMG.

1. Date: Tuesday, June 25, 16:00 – 17:00

Title: How to review an article: Interactive workshop with experts

Facilitators: Allison Mo, Catherine Kimber, Susan Brunskill, Lise Estcourt, Erica Wood

Description: In this interactive workshop, experts from the ISBT/Systematic Reviews Initiative “Transfusion Evidence Round-Up” program will guide participants through the process of how to critically review scientific papers, and take participants through a real-life example of how a “Transfusion Evidence Round-Up” is done including: abstract and full text review, how to assess quality and bias in different study types, how to do PICO summaries

2. Date: Thursday, June 27, 10:30 – 12:00

Title: Implementation sciences ‘I want to do better!” – putting evidence into practice

Facilitators:Pierre Tiberghien, Erica Wood, Jeannie Callum, Robbie Foy, Simon Stanworth

Description: This session will share evidence, experience and expertise in how to transform transfusion research into practice. It will offer a framework for doing so and address key questions, such as:

How do you identify opportunities and priorities for improvement?
How can you monitor, evaluate and sustain change?
What evidence-based approaches are available to promote best transfusion practice in your setting?

Make sure you also check out the poster presentations, Dr. Jeannie Callum, on behalf of the Albumin Guideline Development Group, will be highlighting ICTMG’s most recent published guideline with a poster presentation titled “Use of Intravenous Albumin: A clinical practice guideline from the International Collaboration for Transfusion Medicine Guidelines”.

For more information, please visit the ISBT 38th Annual Congress website

April 24, 2024

Employment opportunity

The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) is currently looking for a transfusion medicine specialist. See details about this position on the Career opportunities page.

March 22, 2024

Publication of intravenous albumin guideline

The ICTMG is pleased to announce that our guideline, "Use of Intravenous Albumin: A Guideline from the International Collaboration for Transfusion Medicine Guidelines", has been accepted to the journal CHEST and is now available online (print to follow). See details on the ICTMG Intravenous Albumin guideline page.

February 23, 2024

Guideline support website page added

Are you looking for ICTMG representatives to participate in the development of your guideline? To find out more, please see our new guideline support page.

January 31, 2024

Endorsement of hemolytic disease of the newborn guideline

The ICTMG is pleased to receive news that the International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT) has endorsed the HDN guidelines. For more information about the guideline and the additional resources for patients and healthcare professionals, see the ICTMG HDG guideline page.

December 19, 2023

Publication of cardiac albumin systematic review

The ICTMG is pleased to announce that manuscript “Intravenous Albumin in Cardiac and Vascular surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis” has been published in the British Journal of Anaesthesia. See details on the ICTMG Intravenous Albumin guideline page.

November 23, 2023

Update of HDN website page

The ICTMG is excited to share that the ICTMG HDG guideline page has been updated with additional resources for physicians and patients. A new PowerPoint presentation, "Hemolytic disease of the newborn (HDN): IVIG in the management of Rh and ABO-mediated HDN", is now available for physicians. Two new patient pamphlets are available in English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish.

Publication of cardiac albumin systematic review

The ICTMG is pleased to announce that manuscript “Intravenous Albumin in Cardiac and Vascular surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis” has been accepted for publication in the British Journal of Anaesthesia. Congratulations to the ICTMG systematic review group for completing this systematic review. Watch this space for further details.

February 17, 2022

Upcoming virtual event - University of Toronto Transfusion Medicine Rounds

This event will be hosted by the Ontario Regional Blood Coordinating Network (ORBCoN) in Canada and feature case examples of applications of behaviour change approaches within transfusion medicine and the ICTMG.

Title: Behaviour change approaches to implementation science in transfusion medicine
Date: February 23, 2023
Time: 12:00 EST

Where: Virtual

Presented by:

Dr. Fabiana Lorencatto, PhD
Research Lead, Centre for Behaviour Change, University College London

Dr. Justin Presseau, PhD

Senior Scientist, Centre for Implementation Research, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
Associate Professor, School of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa

Learning objectives

Gain an appreciation for the role of behaviour change and implementation science in transfusion medicine
Become familiar with key approaches used to surface barriers and enablers to change and strategies to address them
Consider case examples of applications of behaviour change approaches within transfusion medicine and the ICTMG

Registration

For additional event details, refer to the Ontario Regional Blood Coordinating Network (ORBCoN) website: University of Toronto Transfusion Medicine Rounds – February 23, 2023 – Transfusion Ontario.

September 22, 2022

ICTMG @ AABB

Congratulations to Dr. Arwa Al Riyami and the ICTMG Platelets AGREE II systematic review project team on their poster presentation at the 2022 AABB Annual Meeting. Dr. Al Riyami will be sharing their findings of the ICTMG systematic review entitled "Platelet Transfusion In Cardiopulmonary Bypass Surgery; A Systematic Review". Project members are Arwa Al Riyami, Homa Keshavarz, Rachel Jug, Arwa Al Riyami, Ursula La Rocca, Simon Stanworth, and Susan Nahirniak.

June 1, 2022

ICTMG @ ISBT

Congratulations to Dr. Ursula La Rocca and the ICTMG Platelets AGREE II systematic review project team on their oral presentation at the ISBT 2022 Virtual Congress. Dr. La Rocca will be sharing their findings of the ICTMG systematic review entitled "Impact of restrictive versus liberal red cell transfusion strategies on bleeding: An updated systematic review including randomized trials published between 2016 and 2021". Project members are Ursula La Rocca, Homa Keshavarz, Rachel Jug, Arwa Al Riyami, Simon Stanworth, Michael Desborough and Susan Nahirniak.

Dr. La Rocca will be presenting during the Transfusion critically ill patients session on Sunday, June 5, 2022.

May 2, 2022

Employment opportunity

The ICTMG is currently looking for a manager to support its Clinical Guideline Program. See details about this new position with Canadian Blood Services on the Career opportunities page.

April 14, 2022

Publication of HDN guidelines

The ICTMG is pleased to announced that the "International guidelines regarding the role of IVIG in the management of RH- and ABO-mediated hemolytic disease of the newborn" has been published by the British Journal of Haematology as an open access paper. See details on the ICTMG HDG guideline page.

April 1, 2022

Publication of HDN guidelines

The ICTMG is excited to share the manuscript "International guidelines regarding the role of IVIG in the management of Rh- and ABO-mediated hemolytic disease of the newborn" has been accepted for publication in the British Journal of Haematology. Congratulations to the ICTMG guideline development group for completing this important guideline. See details on the ICTMG HDG guideline page.

February 3, 2022

ICTMG @ ISBT Journal Club

The ISBT Journal Club presentation is on the ICTMG Platelet AGREE II systematic review is now available for viewing. See details on this presentation on the ICTMG Platelets guideline page.

November 26, 2021

ICTMG @ ISBT Journal Club

Join the IBST Journal Club on December 14, 2021 for a panel discussion on "Which Platelet Guideline should I use" chaired by Prof. Simon Stanworth. Panelists include ICTMG members, Dr. Arwa Al-Riyami, Dr. Ursula La Rocca, and Dr. Rachel Jug. They will be discussing the process of conducting the ICTMG Platelet AGREE II systematic review, their findings and what they believe to be the next steps. Register for the event at isbtweb.org.

November 25, 2021

ICTMG membership categories simplified

The ICTMG Executive is pleased to announce simplified ICTMG membership categories that will facilitate volunteers' engagement in ICTMG Committees and Projects. As of September 2021, volunteers may join the ICTMG as Project Members contributing to one or more ICTMG projects (including Guideline Development Groups) or as ICTMG Full Members contributing to projects and Committees. Read more on our ICTMG membership page and on our ICTMG Projects page.

November 3, 2021

ICTMG Vice-chair appointment

The ICTMG Executive is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Katerina Pavenski as ICTMG Executive Vice-Chair starting July 1, 2021. Katerina has been an ICTMG member since the inception of the collaborative and the Chair of the Topics Selection Committee since 2018. She is a clinical hematologist and head of the division of transfusion medicine at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, Canada. Her research interests include clinical transfusion medicine, transfusion management of massive hemorrhage, and patient blood management.

ICTMG @ AABB 2021

Congratulations to Dr. Lani Lieberman and the ICTMG Guideline Development Group project on their poster presentation at 2021 AABB. The team shared the findings of the upcoming ICTMG publication entitled “International Guidelines Regarding the Use of IVIG For the Management of Hemolytic Disease of the Newborn.” Project members and co-authors on the guidelines are Lani Lieberman, Enrico Lopriore, Jillian M Baker, Rachel S. Bercovitz, Robert D. Christensen, Gemma Crighton, Meghan Delaney, Ruchika Goel, Jeanne E. Hendrickson, Amy Keir, Denise Landry, Ursula La Rocca, Brigette Lemyre, Rolf F Maier, Eduardo Muniz Diaz, Susan Nahirniak, Helen V. New, Katerina Pavenski, Maria Cristina Pessoa dos Santos, Glenn Ramsey, and Nadine Shehata.

May 10, 2021

The ICTMG Executive is pleased to announce the nomination of Prof. Simon Stanworth as ICTMG Executive Chair starting April 1. Simon has been an ICTMG member since the inception of the collaborative and the Vice Chair since 2018. He is a consultant hematologist and honorary senior clinical lecturer at the University of Oxford.

The ICTMG Executive owe an immense gratitude to the vision and work of Dr. Nadine Shehata who, in the role of Chair, has let the ICTMG over the last several years.

November 30, 2020

The ISBT Journal Club presentation is on the ICTMG hemoglobinopathies guideline is now available for viewing. See details on this presentation on the ICTMG Hemoglobinopathies page.

August 31, 2020

Upcoming Journal Club

Join the ISBT Journal Club on October 28 for a presentation on the ICTMG hemoglobinopathies guideline. Dr. Rachel Jug, ICTMG member, will be presenting along with three panelists who will share their experiences in implementing guidelines in their regions. Register for the event at https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/5557540205177699340..

August 6, 2020

ICTMG is excited to share its latest systematic review published in Blood Advances on the topic of FNAIT. See details about this publication on the ICTMG FNAIT page.

October 17, 2019

If you plan to attend the upcoming 2019 AABB Annual Meeting being held in San Antonio, Texas, look out for these contributions from ICTMG:

Poster presentation: Fetal and Neonatal Alloimmune Thrombocytopenia: A systematic review and meta-analysis of the impact of HLA-DRB3*01:01 on neonatal outcome in HPA-1a immunized women. To read the poster abstract, visit: https://aabb.confex.com/aabb/2019/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/6359.

Educational session: ICTMG members Dr. Nadine Shehata, Dr. Richard Kaufman, and Dr. Cynthia So-Osman are speakers in the educational session, Evidence Based Guidelines: Toward Optimizing and Standardizing Transfusion Care. For more about their presentations, visit: https://aabb.confex.com/aabb/2019/meetingapp.cgi/Session/3273.

Seminar: ICTMG member Dr. Nadine Shehata will discuss the ICTMG “Red cell specifications for patients with hemoglobinopathies” systematic review and guideline at the Blood Group Genotyping Seminar.

To view the full schedule for the 2019 AABB Annual Meeting, visit http://www.aabb.org/annual-meeting/Pages/default.aspx

September 20, 2019

On July 19, 2019, the American Society of Hematology (ASH) affirmed that the "Red blood cell specifications for patients with hemoglobinopathies: a systematic review" and the "Fetal and neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia: recommendations for evidence-based practice, an international approach" guidelines have value for hematologists. The guideline panel that developed them included an ASH representative, and the final guidelines were reviewed by the Guideline Oversight Subcommittee and Committee on Quality. ASH did not otherwise have input into the development of these guidelines.

June 27, 2019

ICTMG is excited to share its Fetal Neonatal and Alloimmune Thrombocytopenia (FNAIT) resources for patients and physicians. Visit the FNAIT page under Guideline Topics for podcasts, patient pamphlets, algorithms, a Powerpoint slide deck, and the guideline.

March 19, 2019

Get involved in the March 2019 insightScope crowdsourcing event!

The goal of this event is to help International Collaboration for Transfusion Medicine Guidelines (ICTMG) collaboration to rapidly complete a large systematic review. During this event, a large number of insightScope members (“the crowd”) will help the ICTMG to complete screening for a systematic review on the use of albumin for patients in the intensive care unit, patients with kidney failure and patients with liver failure. The ICTMG will use the results of the systematic review to develop guidelines for the optimum use of albumin.

Visit the event listing at www.insightscope.ca for more information, or contact the insightScope team (kohearn@cheo.on.ca)

February 27, 2019

FNAIT guideline

The Fetal Neonatal Alloimmune Thrombocytopenia (FNAIT) guideline will be featured in an upcoming ISBT newsletter. See March 2019 (issue 118) of Transfusion Today.

November 1, 2018

Fetal neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (FNAIT): Guidance to reduce the risk of intracranial bleeding” has been accepted as a poster presentation at the 2018 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting December 1-4 in San Diego, California, US.

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