Meet the experts contributing to the ISBT Workshop on Plasma Management in Eastern Europe and Nearby Countries 2026. Discover the speakers who will share their knowledge and experience on improving plasma quality, safety and management, fostering regional collaboration and supporting sustainable access to essential plasma-derived medicinal products.
Cihan Akyuz
Dr. Cihan Akyuz is a Strategic Healthcare Executive and Medical Doctor with over 30 years of experience (1991–present) leading medical operations and delivering large-scale projects across Türkiye and the United States. He holds a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) from Ege University and an Executive MBA from Istanbul University, with a focus on Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) compliance, process optimization, and regulatory alignment.
Currently serving as Medical Affairs Manager at the Turkish Red Crescent’s General Directorate of Blood Services (2025–Present), Dr. Akyuz supports national guideline and regulation development with the Ministry of Health, oversees hemovigilance, education/training, and standardizes service unit infrastructure. Over nearly a decade with the organization, he has also served as Medical Operations Manager (2021–2025) and Plasma Fractionation Project Specialist (2017–2021), managing blood supply chains, establishing Computerized System Validation (CSV) and Equipment Qualification frameworks, and successfully navigating EMA GMP inspections.
Earlier, Dr. Akyuz spent 13 years managing clinical practices in New Jersey, USA (2004–2017), following his foundational career as a General Practitioner in Türkiye (1991–1996). Dr. Akyuz bridges global operational standards with clinical excellence to maximize organizational efficiency and patient outcomes.
Dorina Pirgari
Hans Vrielink
Dr. Vrielink (1958) was educated at the University of Amsterdam in Medicine and wrote his PhD thesis (1996) on the ‘Laboratory diagnosis of viruses transmitted by blood transfusion’. From 1985 until his retirement in May 2025 Hans Vrielink worked 40 years as transfusion and apheresis medicine specialist at Sanquin Blood Supply Foundation, the national blood transfusion service in the Netherlands. He has published many articles and chapters in internationally recognized journals and books. Hans Vrielink is initiator of (inter)national courses in the field of apheresis for physicians and nurses and trained since 2013 almost 1,000 apheresis nurses and physicians.
Since his retirement, Hans Vrielink serves as consultant in Transfusion and Apheresis Medicine and blood banking. He is involved in mentoring, training and advising individuals, organisations and governments in low and middle income countries in blood banking, transfusion medicine and apheresis all over the world.
Hans Vrielink is international JACIE / FACT inspector. Hans Vrielink is involved in many international associations, for instance as past- president of the World Apheresis Association and of the European Society for Hemapheresis, and active in various ISBT working parties.
Jay Epstein
Jay S. Epstein, MD chairs the ISBT Working Party for Global Blood Safety and the International Coalition for Safe Plasma Proteins. He directed the US FDA’s blood program from 1993 to 2018 for regulation and scientific research on blood products and related drugs and devices including IVDs for blood donation screening and HIV diagnostic testing. Dr. Epstein served for decades as an expert advisor to WHO on biological standardization and on development of blood safety policies and guidance and a contributor to the European guide for blood components. He was a lead scientist at the WHO blood program from 2018-2020. In 2021-2022 he assisted the Department of Health and Human Services with the US therapeutic response to COVID-19. Dr. Epstein earned a bachelor’s degree from Harvard College and a medical degree from SUNY Downstate. He holds licenses in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases and has published over 150 scientific papers.
Jens Reinhardt
Dr. Reinhardt studied Biology and received a PhD in virology. He joined the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut in 2008. He is deputy head of the section “Quality Assessment Coagulation Products and Gene Therapy”, where he is leading the group responsible for the quality assessment of Plasma-derived Medicinal Products and their recombinant counter parts, as well as coordination of the assessment of Plasma Master File applications. He is the Chair of the Plasma Master File Quality Operational Expert Group at EMA. Jens Reinhardt is also the Head of the GHPP-BloodTrain project, which has been focusing on strengthening the regulatory systems for blood and blood products in African Partner Countries since 2018.
Karin van den Berg
Karin is a medical doctor by training with an MSc in Transfusion Medicine and PhD in Haematology. She has a strong background in research having set up the Translational Research unit at the South African National Blood Service where she was later appointed as the Medical Director. She served on the Boards of the South African Bone Marrow Registry and the South African Tissue Bank Association and is an affiliated lecturer at the University of the Free State. She was a member of several of the ISBT, AABB and the World Health Organisation Working Parties. Her main research focus areas are the intersection of the dual HIV and Iron Deficiency epidemics and blood donation in South Africa. Her passion is mentoring young professionals and robust ethics discussions
Magdy El-Ekiaby
Margarita Sarishvili
Medical doctor who qualified in Georgia and began her career in emergency medicine before specialising in transfusion science. She established Georgia’s first National Haemophilia Association and played a key role in founding a Georgian NGO promoting international cooperation in blood banking across the Caucasus.
Following postgraduate studies in Transfusion and Transplantation Sciences at the University of Bristol and Public Health at the University of the West of England, she served as a consultant to Afghanistan’s Ministry of Health and Blood service. This work received recognition from the British Blood Transfusion Society and the American Association of Blood Banks.
A member of leading British and international professional blood transfusion societies, she has recently researched the needs and future development of Armenia’s blood service. Her presentations at ISBT conferences in Barcelona and Milan helped inspire the present conference.
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.
Mikayel Ginovyan
I am Dr. Mikayel Ginovyan, a biochemist specializing in blood component processing (over 15 years of experience), dedicated to establishing sustainable access to critical blood-derived medications in resource-limited settings. I hold a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Yerevan State University, Armenia (Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Biotechnology).
Currently, I serve as the Head of the Department of Blood Components Processing at the Yeolyan Hematology and Oncology Center (Ministry of Health, Republic of Armenia). In 2025, my commitment to international cooperation led to my election as the Member-At-Large for Europe at the ISBT Working Party for Global Blood Safety. In this capacity, I work to foster improvements in blood safety and availability worldwide.
My professional journey at the Yeolyan Hematology and Oncology Center began in 2011. I served as a Junior Researcher in the Scientific Department (2011–2018) and as a Chemist Technologist (2012–2014) before assuming leadership of the Department of Blood Components Processing in 2014.
Key achievements
When I took over the department, our production of Anti-D immunoglobulin relied on the outdated Rivanol method dating back to the Soviet era. This approach failed to meet international purity standards, as the final product contained excess plasma proteins (albumin and beta-globulins). Furthermore, the facility did not comply with modern Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) requirements, putting the entire production line at risk of closure.
Recognizing the critical need for this medication, I led a comprehensive modernization effort. Our team successfully established an advanced small-scale plasma fractionation infrastructure based on the cold ethanol fractionation method. We integrated critical purification and viral removal steps to meet international safety standards. This transition allowed us to maintain a "mini-pool" donor model that now achieves 100% national self-sufficiency, supplying safe Rho(D) immunoglobulin to all maternity hospitals in Armenia.
Current research
Building on our expertise in plasma fractionation, we are now expanding our scope. In collaboration with other research groups in Armenia, we have launched a project to develop hyperimmunoglobulin products designed to combat antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. This work, currently utilizing animal models, aims to provide new passive immunotherapy options for patients facing resistant microbes.
Nigar Ertuğrul Örüç
Paul Strengers
Paul Strengers,,MD, joined in 1986 the Central Laboratory of the NRC-BTS (CLB) in Amsterdam. He was Medical Director of CLB Blood Bank, Medical Director at CAF-DCF in Brussels, Director Medical Affairs and Product Development at Sanquin Blood Supply, Division of Plasma Products, and Advisor to the Board of Sanquin Plasma Products.
His activities in blood transfusion medicine science were focused on clinical transfusion medicine i.a. haemophilia and inhibitors to factor VIII, coagulation and the reversal of anti-coagulant therapy, intravenous immunoglobulins and its indications, haemovigilance and pharmacovigilance, and blood transfusion quality, ethics and organization.
He was President of IHN, Secretary-General of ISBT, President and Executive Director of IPFA, Chairman of the NRC Amsterdam, and Member of the ECBS, section Blood, of the WHO.
He is Consultant on Blood and Plasma Strategies, and President of the Foundation Transfusion Medicine.
Publications include author or co-author of more than 150 scientific papers.
Thierry Burnouf
Thierry Burnouf, PhD, is Vice-Dean, Professor, and Director of the International PhD Program in Biomedical Engineering at Taipei Medical University, Taiwan. He previously served as Director of Research and Development and Production at the Regional Blood Transfusion Center in Lille, France, and as Scientific Director at LFB (Laboratoire Français du Fractionnement et des Biotechnologies).
He has played a key role in the development and industrial implementation of plasma fractionation technologies and viral inactivation and removal procedures, supporting both domestic and contract plasma fractionation programs worldwide. Dr Burnouf has acted as a WHO consultant and temporary advisor, contributing to major international guidelines on viral safety, GMP in blood establishments, and plasma fractionation.
He is a member of ISBT Working Parties on Cellular Therapies and Global Blood Safety and has authored over 230 scientific publications. His current research focuses on bioengineering virally-safe platelet growth factor preparations and extracellular vesicles for regenerative medicine and cell therapy.
Thierry Burnouf received the ISBT Presidential Award in 2024.
Thomas Kreil
Dr. Kreil is Vice President and Head of Global Pathogen Safety at Takeda. In this role, he is responsible for ensuring the viral and pathogen safety of plasma derived therapies as well as all other biological medicinal products within the Takeda portfolio across the product lifecycle, supporting Takeda’s commitment to delivering safe and effective treatments to patients worldwide.
He brings more than three decades of experience in pathogen safety, virology, immunology and biologics development. He joined Takeda through the Shire integration and has held senior leadership roles in Global Pathogen Safety and virus vaccine development at Baxter, Baxalta, Shire, and now Takeda, where he has helped shape industry standards for pathogen safety and risk mitigation.
In addition to his industry leadership, Dr. Kreil is an Associate Professor at the Institute of Virology at the Medical University of Vienna, where he has lectured on pathogen safety, antiviral immunity, and the safety of biological medicines. He has authored more than 120 peer reviewed publications and book chapters and is a recognized expert in plasma protein therapies, biological medicinal products and viral risk management.
Dr. Kreil is actively engaged in global scientific and industry organizations. He serves as Chair of the Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association’s Global Pathogen Safety Working Group and contributes to multiple international task forces and advisory groups focused on emerging pathogens, pandemic preparedness, and biomanufacturing safety.
He holds a PhD in Immunology from the Medical University of Vienna and completed executive education in Strategy and Innovation at the MIT Sloan School of Management.
Tomohiko Sato
Vincenzo De Angelis
