The theme of this 14th International Symposium on Blood Transfusion is closely related to the work and scientific contributions of the Dutch cryobiology pioneer Dr. Herman W. Krijnen of the Dutch Red Cross Central Laboratory. Dr. Krijnen was known and respected in the national and interna tional blood transfusion community as an extremely competent scientist and a beloved and admired colleague. Dr. Krijnen was intentionally honoured with the invitation to open this symposium on cryopreservation and low temperature biology in blood transfusion and be the guest of honour at this event....

Cytokines are cellular growth factors which also provide communication between cells and their milieu. This clearly is an exciting area in modern medicine that will have significant impact on various facets of transfusion. Erythropoietin therapy stimulates red cell production while thrombopoietin seems to positively affect megakaryopoiesis and can be an added armamentarium for the thrombocytopenic patient.
Using haematnopoietic growth factors, stem cells could be mobilized early to the peripheral blood for collection and subsequent transplantation into haemato-oncology patients instead...