EDQM Blood Conference
Innovation in Blood Establishment Processes
14-15 January 2025 
Strasbourg, France
The European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare (EDQM), which is part of the Council of Europe, has been putting these principles into practice since 2007, under its mandate as a leading developer of internationally recognised guidelines and a provider of practical support to Blood Establishments (BEs) to improve and protect public health.
A fundamental contribution to the blood transfusion field is the EDQM’s “Guide to the preparation, use and quality assurance of blood components”, or “Blood Guide”. This comprehensive and regularly updated guide provides technical standards that collate the latest scientific data and advances in the blood field. In addition, it addresses important ethical questions to be considered for the donation of blood and blood components to assist professionals.
In addition, the EDQM has been running two programmes to support BEs in their day-to-day work, namely the Blood Proficiency Testing Scheme (B-PTS) since 2010 and the Blood Quality Management programme (B-QM) since 2012. These programmes provide external quality assessment schemes to BE laboratories as well as on-site and virtual training and assessment schemes. Since 2013, these activities have been complemented by conferences and regular training courses for European BEs, to promote peer-exchange and cohesion in the fast-changing blood transfusion field.
As part of this programme, and with the financial support of the European Commission, we are very excited to announce the new EDQM Blood Conference to be held at the Council of Europe’s Palais de l’Europe building in Strasbourg, France, on 14 and 15 January 2025. The conference will focus on “Innovation in Blood Establishment Processes – New developments in blood donation and blood component preparation in Europe” and will address the question “How can they be implemented in practice?”. It will provide an invaluable opportunity for professionals in the field to discuss new challenges and to prepare for the upcoming implementation of the new Substances of Human Origin (SoHO) European Union legislation. We look forward to bringing together experts from Europe and beyond to share their in-depth knowledge, discuss practical questions from scientific, technical, and quality management points of view, and to expand their networks to strengthen the community.
In this spirit, we hope to welcome you to the beautiful city of Strasbourg soon!
Laurent Mallet
Head of the Biological Standardisation, OMCL Network and Healthcare Department (DBO), EDQM
As the European Commission’s department responsible for European Union policy on health and for monitoring the implementation of related laws, the Directorate-General SANTE (DG SANTE) has the mission to make Europe a healthier and safer place. DG SANTE’s goals are achieved through monitoring, listening to concerns, and then taking appropriate action. With regards to the specific theme of the Blood Conference, a key political concern is patient access to a continuous supply of safe and high-quality blood, plasma and derived therapies. European Union policy makers have therefore included specific provisions to allow actors and stakeholders to take necessary actions to ensure and improve this supply. During this conference, DG SANTE will give a presentation of these key provisions. We look forward to your attendance during this opportunity to meet other key actors in the field.
