Advances in Transfusion Safety Sydney, Australia, 11-13th October 2005

Improving the safety for blood and blood product transfusion It is amazing that in the first years of the 21st century there are insufficient blood supplies and that some supplies are unsafe in certain areas of the world. Regulations and codes call for continuous improvement in processes and attitudes to assure safety everywhere. To that end nearly 200 transfusionists and their colleagues gathered in Sydney in October 2005 to conduct a marathon symposium on methods and advances made towards achieving universal safety for blood and blood product transfusion. Sponsors of the latest products joined in to support this extraordinary meeting of information and ideas. Advances in transfusion safety were put forward from all areas of the blood transfusion process, including establishment of services, donor selection, infections that may affect donors, safe testing, risk and safety assessment, the roles of government and regulation, the use of blood and its products as well as the need for effective communication. The resulting papers from internationally renowned experts are published in these proceedings.