Advances in Transfusion Safety Natcher Auditorium, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, USA, June 4-6, 2003

Transfusion medicine is an exciting and constantly advancing science. As new knowledge and cost-efficient safety technologies continue to emerge, the dichotomy between blood collection/transfusion practices and standards in developed and less-developed countries begins to blur. This publication reflects the state-of-the-art lectures and discussions of the Third IABs Symposium on Advances in Transfusion Safety, focusing on the current practice, successes and failures in applying these modern advances in the less-developed areas of the world. The review of TSE agents and their resulting impact on the safety of the worldwide blood supply is of particular interest. Some of the world's leading experts in transfusion medicine present the cutting-edge advances in blood screening tests, discussing the challenges of global harmonization and the complex but critical movement toward evidence-based transfusion practices. Transfusion medicine specialists, blood bankers and blood donor recruiters, policy makers, infectious disease and public health specialists will greatly benefit from this timely publication.