ISBT Foundation
In addition to facilitating the educational activities of the Society, the ISBT Academy asses requests from external organisations in low and middle income countries for support for specific educational activities. These Academy approved activities are supported financially by the Foundation of the International Society of Blood Transfusion.
The primary goals of the Foundation are:
- To support educational activities relating to the practice of transfusion medicine and allied fields globally, with a special focus on areas of low and medium human development.
- To manage and administer the funds granted to it annually by the ISBT, in support of the Foundation’s primary objectives.
- To ensure that the funds are responsibly used for education to sustain and improve the safety and health of blood donors and transfused patients.
- To ensure that, in collaboration with ISBT, funded programs meet or exceed accepted standards and are compatible with the maintenance or improvement of acceptable practice in the field.
- To monitor the effectiveness of the utilisation of funds, with particular reference to the completion of educational programs in a timely manner, and the satisfaction levels of program attendees.
The Foundation is advised by an Advisory committee who review applications for financial support. Applications in excess of €5,000 are signed off by the Foundation following advice from the Advisory committee.
The Foundation operates on a not for profit basis.
Management of the Foundation
The Foundation is managed by the Foundation Board consisting of a minimum of five and a maximum of seven persons. There are two classes of Foundation Board member: ex officio and general. The ex officio members are the Secretary General of ISBT, the Treasurer of ISBT and the Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the ISBT Academy. General Foundation Board members are elected by the Board of ISBT and serve a three year term. They may be re-elected for one further term.
Current members of the Foundation Board are:
Chairperson and Treasurer
Martin Smid
Martin Smid, MD Medicine, PhD, MBA, has more than 25 years’ experience in blood bank management, transfusion medicine and coagulation. He is managing director of Sanquin Consulting Services and director of the Academic Institute IDTM. He has been a member of the ISBT WP Global Blood Safety from the start in 2010 and was chair from 2018 till 2023. In essence, the WP develops solutions for the low resource environment with already available knowledge. The stepwise access to safe plasma products initiative is a good example. Martin’s main responsibilities include international cooperation and knowledge sharing in international projects and the Management of Transfusion Medicine programme at the Graduate School of Medical Science of the University of Groningen. He has over 60 publications, mainly in the area of blood products and transfusion medicine. In 2024 he was awarded the AATM excellence award.
General Board Members
Jill Storry
Vice President (2022-2026)
Jill Storry is an adjunct Professor at the Division of Haematology & Transfusion Medicine, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Lund University (LU), Sweden, and also responsible for the Immunohematology laboratories within the Department of Clinical Immunology and Transfusion Medicine, Laboratory Medicine, Lund. She trained as Medical Laboratory Technologist in Bristol, England and has worked for the American Red Cross National Immunohematology Reference Laboratory and the New York Blood Center Immunohematology Reference Laboratory before moving to Sweden to pursue her post-doctoral career. Primary areas of interest are the study of human blood group systems, both from a clinical perspective in the provision of providing blood to alloimmunised patients and from the perspective of human polymorphism, and its role in health and disease. She is currently the Immunohematology Section Editor for Vox Sanguinis. She has served ISBT as a past chair and member of the Working Party on Red Cell Immunogenetics and Blood Group Terminology as well as a member of the Working Party on Rare Donors.
Gwen Clarke
Secretary General (2018-2026)
ISBT Secretary General, Chair of the Vox SC; Clinical Professor, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
Gwen Clarke is a physician with training at the University of Alberta and at Emory University. She has clinical and research interests in perinatal immunohematology and experience as a hospital transfusion medicine physician and with the Canadian blood supplier. Her current role with Canadian Blood services includes medical leadership for perinatal and immunohematology reference laboratories, consultation in donor testing and for the Rare Blood Program. Gwen is a Clinical Professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine at the University of Alberta. She is a former program director for residency training in Hematopathology and an examiner for the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Gwen has recently completed a term as president of the Canadian Society for Transfusion Medicine.
Masja de Haas
Former ISBT Vice President (2018-2022)
Masja de Haas (MD, PhD) is vice-president of Sanquin Diagnostic Services (Amsterdam) and professor in Immunohaematology (University of Leiden), in the Netherlands. She has now over 20 years of experience in transfusion medicine. Her research interests are auto-and alloimmune-mediated blood cell destruction. This extends to the evaluation and design of optimal diagnostic and treatment strategies, such as transfusion policies. She is a member of the ISBT Working Parties for Red Cell Immunogenetics and Blood Group Terminology and Rare donors, respectively. She aims to contribute to the ISBT community by supporting the dissemination of knowledge to strengthen transfusion medicine worldwide.
Compensation
None of the Foundation officers will receive any remuneration as all are volunteers interested in the provision of a safe blood supply for patients who may require a blood or blood component transfusion.
Financial statements
Please see below the latest financial statement for the foundation, for financial statements from previous years, please get in contact with [email protected]
Information
Stichting van The International Society of Blood Transfusion
Marnixstraat 317, 1016 TB Amsterdam
RSIN/ANBI 815743531