Blood Vessels Grown From Patient’s Skin
From a snippet of a patient’s skin, researchers have grown blood vessels in a laboratory and then implanted them to restore blood flow around the patient’s damaged arteries and veins.

Genzyme to Participate in FDA Advisory Committee Meeting on the Use of Phosphate Binders in Chronic Kidney Disease
Genzyme Corporation announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Cardiovascular and Renal Products Advisory Committee will meet Tuesday to consider the use of phosphate binders in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) who are not on dialysis.

Corum Medical Grabs NIH Grant for Blood Test
Corum Medical Inc., a Sudbury-based medical devices startup, has received approximately $200,000 in federal grants to develop its hemoglobin test, according to a spokeswoman

UCSD Physicians Breathe Life Into Cutting-Edge Stem Cell Procedure
Patients living with Myasthenia Gravis may breathe easier thanks to a rare bone marrow transplant procedure performed at The UCSD/Sharp Blood and Marrow Transplant Program, the only program in the western United States that has attempted this procedure.

Procedure May Cut Risk of Tysabri Complication
Replacing plasma, the yellowish liquid component of blood, may help head off a rare brain infection that has been linked to Biogen Idec Inc.'s Tysabri drug for multiple sclerosis.

Experts Worried About Irradiation Machines
The U.S. government should replace more than 1,000 irradiation machines used in hospitals and research facilities because terrorists could use the radioactive materials inside them to make "dirty" bombs, a government advisory panel has concluded.

New Systems Allow for More Blood Draws
Improved blood-collection technology is helping centers compensate for shrinking numbers of donors.

Blood Bank Begins Screening Donors for Diabetes
The Blood Bank of Delmarva will begin screening donors for diabetes, a move officials say could lead to the diagnosis of more than 4,000 people with the potentially debilitating and deadly disease.

Blood Donations From Previously Pregnant Women Restricted
New recommendations that restrict women who have previously been pregnant from donating platelets and plasma will have a major impact on the blood supply.

Bush’s Emergency Programme Donates $100m to Hospitals
A sum of $100 million has been donated to Nigerian hospitals to support the effort being made in the nation's health sector in promoting safe blood transfusion medicine in the country by President George Bush Emergency Programme for AIDS relief.

Microsoft Offers Free HealthVault for Patients' Records
Microsoft Corp. introduced a free Web site that gives consumers a single place to store and manage their medical information, one the company says is safe from data miners, hackers and other security threats.

A Knockout Nobel
The pioneering work that allows biologists to modify specific genes in mice with relative ease has won the 2007 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Gates Charity Bolsters Approach
New Grants Cut Red Tape In Effort to Speed Funding For Novel Health Research

ABSTRACTS, REVIEWS AND SPECIAL REPORTS

Evidence Based Therapeutic Apheresis in Autoimmune and Other Hemolytic Anemias.
This article reviews recent publications that bear on the evidential basis for therapeutic apheresis in diseases in which hemolytic anemia is a prominent feature.

LDL-Apheresis: Indications and Clinical Experience in a Tertiary Cardiac Centre.
To determine the efficacy and safety of liposorber D low-density lipoprotein (LDL) apheresis system in high-risk cardiac patients.

Apheresis Technologies and Clinical Applications: the 2005 International Apheresis Registry
The developments in apheresis technologies and techniques and their clinical applications worldwide are technologically, sociologically, and economically motivated.

A Probabilistic Model for Analyzing Viral Risks of Plasma-Derived Medicinal Products
The prevention of transmission of viral infections by plasma-derived medicinal products is of concern to manufacturers, legislators, and patient representative groups. Recent European legislation requires a viral risk assessment for all new marketing applications of such products.

Gambro BCT in the blood business
In less than a year, Gambro BCT, which stands for Blood Collection Technologies, has gone from being a division of a Swedish company to becoming a standalone entity - the largest medical-device company based in Colorado with more than 1,600 employees.

Mediware to Buy Software Company
Mediware Agrees to Acquire Integrated Marketing Solutions for Undisclosed Sum

Baxter Gains Rights to Recombinant Protein for Treatment of Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura
Baxter now has the right to exclusively develop, manufacture, and market the recombinant protein ADAMTS13 in all markets except Japan. In this country, Baxter has a coexclusive license for commercialization.

Haemonetics Announces Resignation
Global health care company Haemonetics Corp. said the president of the company's patient unit resigned, effective immediately.

OccuLogix Board Authorizes Exploration of Strategic Alternatives to Enhance Shareholder Value
OccuLogix, Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has authorized the Company's management and advisors to explore the full range of strategic alternatives available to enhance shareholder value.

GlaxoSmithKline Chooses a New CEO
Pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline PLC named Andrew Witty as chief executive, ending a yearlong internal competition for a replacement for Jean-Pierre Garnier, who retires next year.

Haemonetics Becomes Preferred Provider of Plasma Collection Products to Octapharma Europe
Haemonetics Corporation and Octapharma AG announced the signing of a multi-year supply contract appointing Haemonetics' Swiss subsidiary as Octapharma's preferred provider of plasma collection technology in Europe.

Amgen shelves plans to Build drugs Plant in Ireland
U.S. biotechnology company Amgen Inc. said it had shelved plans for a production plant in southern Ireland which would have generated 1,100 jobs.

Identification of Factors Associated with Failure of Arteriovenous Fistulas to Mature in Hemodialysis Patients (U01)

NIAID Science Education Awards (R25)

FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION (United States of America)

Medical Device User Fee Rates for Fiscal Year 2008

Substantially Equivalent 510(k) Device Information - AllSet Gold SSP - Invitrogen Corp

Substantially Equivalent 510(k) Device Information - S-Monovette ACD-A Blood Collection System - Cytomedix, Inc

CENTERS FOR MEDICAID AND MEDICARE SERVICES (United States of America)

Pressure is on Hospitals to Stamp out Bacterial Bugs
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services approved regulations stating vascular catheter-associated infections, along with seven other hospital-acquired conditions, are preventable, and the associated costs will not be covered by Medicare.

CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL (United States of America)

2007 West Nile Virus Viremic Blood Donor Activity in the United States

Abstract Submission Site Now Open

The online site for submitting abstracts for presentation at the ASFA 2008 Annual Meeting is now open.

Physicians, scientists, and allied health professionals are encouraged to submit abstracts on all aspects of apheresis, including research, clinical, educational, or administrative topics/projects.

Abstracts will be considered for presentation in one of the following formats:
• Oral: A 10-minute oral presentation by an author plus 5 minutes for questions.
• Poster: A visual display. An author must be present. Posters will be displayed for the entire conference.

Abstracts are welcome from both ASFA members and non-members. There is no limit to the number of abstracts that an individual may submit.

Abstracts should be submitted only if an author intends to attend the meeting and present the abstract if accepted. Those presenting abstracts will be responsible for their own travel and meeting expenses. The rules applying to abstracts are indicated on the Abstract Submission System and must be followed. All abstracts will be published in the Journal of Clinical Apheresis.

BEST ABSTRACT AWARDS - Open to ASFA Members and Non-members

ASFA is pleased to offer Best Abstract Awards in the following categories. To be eligible for these awards, the applicant must be the first author and the author who will present the abstract. The following awards are open to both ASFA members and non-members:
• $1500 ASFA Donor Apheresis Best Abstract Award
• $1500 ASFA Gastroenterology Best Abstract Award
• $1500 ASFA Hematology Best Abstract Award supported by THERAKOS
• $1500 ASFA Nephrology Best Abstract Award
• $1500 ASFA Neurology Best Abstract Award
• $1500 ASFA Ophthalmology Best Abstract Award
• $1500 ASFA Rheumatology Best Abstract Award
• $1500 ASFA Transplantation Best Abstract Award

ALLIED HEALTH AND JUNIOR INVESTIGATOR AWARDS – Open to ASFA Members Only

ASFA also presents two prestigious awards reserved for ASFA members only. To be eligible for the following awards, one must be the first author, the author who will present the abstract, and an ASFA member:
• $1500 ASFA Allied Health Award
• $1500 ASFA Junior Investigator Award

The recipients of all of the above awards will be selected by the ASFA Abstracts Committee. ASFA may reject abstracts that are considered inappropriate for any reason. Abstracts, once submitted, cannot be withdrawn from publication.

Abstracts must be submitted via the online Abstract Submission System at www.apheresis.org/Abstracts/. Instructions for submission will be available on the Abstract Submission System, which will open on September 10, 2007. Abstracts will NOT be accepted by email, mail, or fax.

Abstract Submission Deadline: December 10, 2007 (11:59pm PT)

Click Here to Submit an Abstract

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