Trots en Dankbaar: International Hemovigilance Network (IHN) medal uitgereikt gekregen op 12 April in Athene

De IHN is een organisatie, die landen en personen bijelkaar brengt die zich bezig houden met het bewaken van de veiligheid van bloedproducten (zakjes donorbloed) en weefsels en cellen . Denk dan aan stamcellen, oogweefsel, botweefsel enz. Ik ben de eerste directeur  en later voorzitter geweest van de stichting TRIP (Transfusie en Transplantatie Reacties in Patienten). TRIP is de landelijke organisatie in Nederland die belast is met het bewaken van de veiligheid van bloed, weefsels en cellen. TRIP rapporteert ook aan de EU. Omdat wij in de wereld in dit nieuwe vakgebied van elkaar wilden leren heeft TRIP zich aangesloten bij het  European Hemovigilance Network, dat later overgegaan is in het  International Hemovigilance Network. Ik ben een aantal jaren lid van het bestuur geweest van deze organisatie, eerst als penningmeester en later als president. Afgelopen vrijdag kreeg ik de IHN 2024 medal uitgereikt. Dit is een soort oeuvre prijs. Ik ben daar zeer trots op en ook heel dankbaar dat ik in staat was deze mooie prijs virtueel in ontvangst te nemen.

De woorden van de huidige IHN president waren mooi en hartverwarmend. Daarom wil ik de tekst graag met jullie delen.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is my honour to stand before you today to announce the distinguished recipients of this year's prestigious IHN Medal and Award at our international conference. These individuals have demonstrated unparalleled dedication, creativity, and expertise in their fields, setting a standard of excellence for us all.

Their contributions have not only advanced their disciplines but have also paved the way for groundbreaking innovations that benefit society as a whole. As we celebrate their achievements, let us also acknowledge the countless hours of hard work, perseverance, and passion that have brought them to this moment.

Firstly, announcing the winner of the IHN Medal 2024:

The Medal was created in 2011 to honour a person who has made significant contributions to the work of IHN or its predecessor, the European Haemovigilance Network (EHN), and to haemovigilance more broadly.

Prof Erica Wood who is with us here at the conference from Australia received the award in 2022.

This year, the IHN Medal is awarded to Dr Martin Schipperus from the Netherlands. As the first director of the TRIP National Haemovigilance and (later) Biovigilance Office in The Netherlands, he was instrumental in developing the Dutch vision of haemovigilance, which indeed has become welt-known around the world. In his career Dr Schipperus has always advocated the scientific use of haemovigilance data to support clinical transfusion practice. This is reflected in the large number of scientific publications in this field. He is passionate about the need for standard definitions as well as the benefits of creating a network of dedicated haemovigilance staff within hospitals to monitor and support data collection in the clinical setting and of an annual conference dedicated to transfusion and haemovigilance. In 2023, in collaboration with the Dutch Association of Blood Transfusion and the University of Applied Sciences in Rotterdam, he set up a training course for the teaching of clinical research skills to hemovigilance workers from all over the country. Dr Schipperus' international activities included the IHN treasurership and presidency from 2013-2017 and 2017- 2019 respectively. During this period, he was a major contributor to the 2016 IHN Strategy Development meeting which gave the Network its inspirational Mission statement. Over the years Dr Schipperus continuously combined his haemovigilance activities with his roles as a caring and eminent haematologist, dedicated clinical researcher and transfusion specialist.

His important contributions make him an outstanding candidate/recipient for the IHN Medal.

The Board of IHN gratefully acknowledges his invaluable contributions at national and international levels. We hope that, in a small way, this also recognises the tremendous support that TRIP as an organisation has given to EHN/IHN, with IHN representatives providing support in various IHN activities and serving for many years as part of IHN Board and Committees. Unfortunately, he was unable to join us for the conference but is here with us virtually. Please join me in congratulating and expressing our heartfelt appreciation for all his valuable contributions to the field of haemovigilance.

Dear Dr Schipperus,

Your work in the field of haemovigilance is truly inspiring and your valuable contributions as an eminent expert in this field is gratefully acknowledged by the Board of IHN.