South African National Blood Transfusion Congress, Durban, South Africa 2022 August

The 36th South African National Blood Transfusion Congress was held between the 22nd to 25th August 2022 in Durban, South Africa. Although the Congress was originally planned for August 2021, the two postponements to August 2022 allowed for all delegates to attend in-person, a welcome and much needed departure from the online events over the previous two COVID-19 affected years.

The theme of the Congress was “Shaping a Sustainable Future”, recognizing the global focus on using resources wisely, developing people, and relying on research and science to guide our paths for future challenges. 

The congress was organised by the South African Society for Blood Transfusion, a not-for-profit entity including directors and members of both blood services in South Africa (the South African National Blood Service (SANBS) and the Western Cape Blood Service (WCBS)).

The key highlights were:

• 452 delegates attended (including 96 day delegates).
• 90 abstracts were submitted, of which 62 were accepted for oral presentation, and 27 for poster presentation.
• 30 talks were delivered by invited expert speakers, which included 8 local and 5 international speakers spanning Canada, USA, Denmark and Taiwan. 
• In addition to the scientific content, 3 Workshops were convened on the first day of the Congress, offering delegates developmental opportunities regarding developing resilience, communicating with impact, and insights into digital marketing. 
• 47 trade exhibition stands were taken up by 24 companies.  
• 29 sponsorship opportunities were purchased by 12 companies.
• Delegates attended several social events – which included the opening of the Trade Exhibition, the early morning beach clean-up social outreach event, the Casual Dinner and inter-regional singing competition, and the Gala Dinner.

The organisers of the congress were kindly granted €10 000 by the ISBT Academy, which was utilised to fund the attendance  of most of the international invited speakers. 

The Scientific Program can be accessed via this link.

The organisers wish to thank the ISBT, the sponsors, and the exhibitors for their financial support, as well as all delegates and speakers who ensured that this was yet another successful congress on the African continent. We must highlight the generosity of the delegates who donated substantial goods and cash to Brenda’s Canine Fund as an additional part of the Corporate Social Investment initiative. 

The next South African National Blood Transfusion Congress will be held in 2025 and further details will be released in due course.

The report was authored by Marion Vermeulen and Wendy Sykes.