International Woman in Transfusion Award Phased Out by Founding Organizations

AABB, the British Blood Transfusion Society and the International Society of Blood Transfusion have announced that 2009 was the final year for the International Woman in Transfusion Award. “We conceived this award in 2004 because, for the first time ever, there were women presidents at AABB, the British Blood Transfusion Society and ISBT. We wanted to honor that. We felt that there were a lot of women in transfusion medicine who really were not being recognized,” said Judith Chapman, ISBT executive director. “Given the number of women leaders in the field of transfusion medicine today, the founding societies believe that the need for an award that specifically recognizes the contribution of women has passed." Five women have received this award since its inception: Marcela Contreras of the United Kingdom in 2005, Marion Reid of the U.S. in 2006, Pearl Toy of the U.S. in 2007, Cecile Kaplan-Gouet of France in 2008, and Nancy Heddle of Canada in 2009.