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On June 7th and 8th, the Blood Banks Association of New York State, Inc. (BBANYS) held its 56th annual meeting at The Desmond Hotel and Conference Center in Albany, NY. The meeting was co-sponsored by the New York State Department of Health.

On June 6th, AABB took this opportunity to partner with BBANYS by offering its Assessor Training Program in conjunction with the annual meeting. Nine individuals participated in this training program to become AABB assessors or to increase their knowledge of the inspection process.

The 2007 Annual Meeting Planning Committee was chaired by Jeanne Linden, MD, MPH; Cindy Garabedian, MT(ASCP) served as Assistant Chairperson. Other members of the Planning Committee included Maureen Manning, MT(ASCP), Kevin Pelletier, MT(ASCP), Marcia Kolakoski, MS, and William Zaloga, DO (New York State Department of Health); Carla Chamberlain, MT(ASCP)SBB and George Wilner, MD (Albany Medical Center Hospital); Noel Harding, MT(ASCP) (Glens Falls Hospital); and Beth Murwin, BB(ASCP) (Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital). Barbara Zittel, RN, PhD (New York State Education Department) and Karen Clement-O’Brien, MS, RN (Albany Medical Center Hospital) rounded out the Planning Committee with their contributions to the Nursing Program.

The meeting was organized into three tracks that ran simultaneously on Thursday and three tracks on Friday. Many of the speakers were nationally and internationally known; some were favorites from past meetings. The biggest challenge faced by attendees was selecting which sessions to attend.

The Thursday morning Scientific Program, attended by 70 people, boasted presentations by Mark Brecher, MD (Bacterial Contamination of Platelets: An Update); Donna Strauss, MS (What 2 Days More Can Do: The Implementation of 7-Day Platelets); Roger Dodd, PhD (Infectious Disease Update); and Celso Bianco, MD (What Do the Prevention of TRALI and Screening for the Chagas’ Agent Have in Common?). The Quality Program, with 39 participants, focused on patient safety and presentations were given by James AuBuchon, MD (Patient Safety: You, Too, Have a Role!) and Lucia Berte, MA, MT(ASCP)SBB, DLM; CQA(ASQ)CQMGR (Patient Safety: Old Questions, New Answers). The Technical Program, sponsored by the American Red Cross Blood Services – New York-Penn Region, featured presentations by Karen Lare, MT(ASCP)SBB and Laurie Delia, MT(ASCP)SBB (ABO/Rh Typing Problems, Incompatible Crossmatches, and Other Things That Go "Clump" in the Night) and drew 38 registrants.

On Thursday afternoon, addressing a group of 90 individuals, speakers for the Scientific Program included Edward Snyder, MD, FACP (Transfusion Medicine to Cellular Therapy to Regenerative Medicine: The Blood Bank in Evolution); Ralph Vassallo, Jr., MD, FACP (Antigen Matching for the Difficult “Frequent Flyer”), Gerald Sandler, MD (Radio-Frequency Technology for Hospitals and Blood Centers); and Howard Corwin, MD (Massive Transfusion: A Clinical Perspective). Presenters for the Quality Program included Cory Bergeron, MS, LPN (Hurricane Katrina: Disaster, Recovery, Lessons Learned); Bonnie Lupo, MS, SBB(ASCP) (ISBT 128 Is Here to Stay – Are You Ready?); and John Pelizza, PhD (The Common Link in Stress Management and Productivity) and drew 35 registrants. ImmucorGamma sponsored the Technical Program presented by Marilyn Moulds, MT(ASCP)SBB (All You Wanted to Know, And More, About Blood Bank Reagents) which drew 34 participants.

The Scientific Program on Friday morning was intended to help holders of New York State certificates of qualification in Blood Services - Collection Comprehensive to meet recency requirements. The session attracted 63 participants. Presenters included John Burch, MD (What’s New in Health History Screening); William Zaloga, DO (Other Changes in Regulations and Standards); Jay Valinsky, PhD (Paradigms in Blood Donor Testing and Safety of the Blood Supply); and Debra Kessler, RN, MS (Donor and Recipient Notification). The four speakers then participated in a question and answer session. Albany Medical Center Hospital, accredited by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation as a provider of continuing nursing education (CNE), co-provided the Nursing Program. Sixty-eight registrants attended the session and a maximum of 3.9 CNE contact hours were awarded . Speakers included Cindy Novak, RN (Overview of Blood Components); Donna Skerrett, MD, MS (Indications for Components, Including Those for Special Needs Patients); Patricia Minkler, RN,MS,NP,WOCN (Blood Component Administration and Management); Jeanne Linden, MD, MPH (Promoting Error-Free Transfusion); and Toni Smith, EdD, RN, FNAP and JoAnn Popovich, MS, RN (Dracula Did Not Need a License – Nurses Do: Safe Administration of Blood Components by LPNs). A panel discussion entitled “The Future of Blood Product Administration” followed; a number of good questions were posed by the audience. The Technical Program, sponsored by Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics, Inc. and entitled “Challenges for Today’s Blood Bank”, featured three presentations and a question and answer session. Speakers included Tony Casina, MT(ASCP)SBB (In Search of the Holy Grail: Reagents and Test Method Differences in Antibody Detection and Why the Blood Bank?) and Terry Shedd, MT(ASCP) (Automating Your Blood Bank). The session drew 55 participants.

This was the fourth annual meeting held at The Desmond Hotel and Conference Center. At Thursday’s luncheon, held in the Fort Orange Ballroom, alternating red and black tablecloths with ivory napkins and chair covers accentuated the organization’s logo colors. During the luncheon, the BBANYS logo was projected on the backdrop and the wait staff was dressed in black slacks, white long-sleeved shirts, and red bowties. Thursday’s lunch entrees included a choice between Asian-style chicken breast or fruit supreme, followed by an ice cream truffle (raspberry sorbet covered with white chocolate) and accented with a fortune cookie with the customized fortune “No confusion on improving transfusion”. At the close of Friday morning’s sessions, attendees selected a box lunch consisting of a turkey or ham and Swiss croissant or grilled vegetable wrap, with a piece of fried chicken, antipasto salad, chips, fruit, dessert, and a soda.

During the reception on Thursday evening, the buffet tables in the King Street Courtyard were covered in red and black tablecloths and exquisitely decorated with tall floral centerpieces. Recorded instrumental guitar and piano music was provided by Thomas Brownell as attendees and vendors chatted with colleagues and dined on cheese, fruit, and butler-passed hors d’oeuvres. Each attendee received a complimentary ticket for a drink of their choice.

As always, the raffle prize drawings were a sensational hit with attendees. For each exhibitor’s booth visited, attendees completed and deposited one raffle ticket in the exhibitor’s ceramic container. Drawings on Thursday were held during lunch, the afternoon break, and the reception, and on Friday morning during the break. Winners and raffle prize contributors included: Giacinto Gervas from Syosset Hospital (basket of gifts donated by the American Red Cross Blood Services, NY-Penn Region), Pat Matarrese from Ellis Hospital (Godiva chocolate and Barnes and Nobel gift card donated by Separation Technology), Barbara Hutchins from St. Mary’s Hospital (pen, $25 itunes gift card and $25 Target gift card), Mark Wheeler from New York University Medical Center (ipod shuffle donated by Miller Keystone Blood Center), Ann Murdock from Good Samaritan Hospital (cooler donated by AMA Scientific), and Enongo Onembo from Metropolitan Hospital (blanket, $25 Target gift certificate and $25 itunes gift card donated by ImmucorGamma). BBANYS also donated many raffle prizes that were eagerly claimed by the winners. Winners and prizes included Jennifer Strager from Community Memorial Hospital ($25 Starbucks gift card), Liz Sturgen from Bay State Medical Center (BBQ set), Barbara Hutchins from St. Mary’s Hospital (Lindt Truffles), Eileen O’Leary from Community Memorial Hospital (First Alert carbon monoxide detector), Ziauddin Wattab from St. John’s Episcopal Hospital South Shore (DVD case), Saritta Ottenwalder (candy basket), Rachel Elder, MD from Crouse Irving Hospital (pen set and portfolio), Chris Francis from CSL Behring (auto safety kit), Diane Dermody from Lab Alliance of Central New York (Godiva chocolate), Jearang Ying (Barnes and Nobel gift certificate), Shelly Seagers from Chester County Hospital (photo frame), Eileen Klupka from Ellis Hospital (spaghetti dinner basket), Enongo Onembo from Metropolitan Hospital (SONY digital camera), Cynthia Alger (breakfast basket), Rose Mary Steuber from Catskill Regional Medical Center ($25 Olive Garden gift card), Eileen Avery from New York State Nurses Association (floral wreath), Vivian Powell from Winthrop University Hospital (luggage), and Susan Kusic from New York Blood Center ($25 TGI Friday gift card). The winners appeared to be genuinely enthusiastic about the prizes they won. Many thanks to the vendors who donated raffle prizes.

In return for the vendors’ support of our meeting, the Annual Meeting Planning Committee requests that you remember these vendors when it is time to purchase supplies and equipment. A complete listing of exhibitors and those who contributed financially to the success of the annual meeting appears later in this newsletter.

In closing, each element of an annual meeting contributes to its success – advance planning, securing high-caliber speakers, filling the exhibit hall with knowledgeable vendors, and identifying the right meeting location with great ambiance and delicious food. All of the elements were present this year. Yes… it was a successful meeting.