The international symposia on blood transfusion in Groningen have taken place without interruption since 1976. Each year Dr. Smit-Sibinga and his team have not only organized a meeting on timely topics in blood transfusion, but also succeeded in attracting prominent chairmen and speakers.
The subject of the 24th Symposium was Molecular Biology in Blood Transfusion and it was chaired by Dr. Harvey G. Klein, National Institutes of Health, USA. In this book of proceedings an extraordinary range of subjects is covered, including diagnostic aspects, virology, quality control, cell and...

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...