OCTOBER 19–20, 2007, BEIJING, CHINA
From Blood Substitutes To Oxygen Therapeutics
President
Qian Liu, M.D. (Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, China)
Executive President
Ruijuan Xiu, Ph.D., M.D. (Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, China)
Honorary President
Thomas M.S. Chang, O.C., M.D., C.M., Ph.D., F.R.C.P.C., F.R.S.[C]. (McGill University, Canada)
International Advisory Committee
A. Alayash, G.P. Biro, E. Bucci, T. Chang, C. Chen, A.T. Cheung, T. Estep, M. Feola, S. Gould, A.G. Greenburg, D. Hoyt, C. Hsia, M. Intaglietta, M.P. Krafft, K. Kobayashi, Q. Liu, K.C. Lowe, E.E. Moore, A. Mozzarelli, A.F. Palmer, J.G. Riess, Z.G. Su, E. Tsuchida, R. Winslow, B. Wong, Jeffrey Wong Tze-Fei, R.J. Xiu, C.M. Yang, W.M. Zapol
Planning Committee
Ruijuan Xiu (Chair), Chao Chen, Chengmin Yang, Enling Ma. Hae Won Kim, Peter C.Y. Chen, Yaoting Yu, Zhiguo Su, Zhongyi Yuan
XI ISBS Presidential Address
Qian Liu, M.D.
President, the XIth ISBS
Executive Vice President
Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College Director, Peking Union Medical College Hospital Vice-minister of Public Health of China
Dear Colleagues and Friends, On behalf of the organizing committee for the XIth International Symposium on Blood Substitutes (XIth ISBS), and on behalf of the Ministry of Health of the People's Republic of China, I am delighted to extend my warmest welcome to all of you to the conference and to one of the most vibrant city in the world, Beijing.
Today, the common interest and aspiration brought us together to continue the dialogue and advances in blood substitutes research which, in contrast to banked blood, have no concerns for infectious agents such as HIV or the hepatitis C virus. As we are all aware, in the world including China, episodic blood shortages and the gap between the growing transfusion needs of an aging population expecting access to better medical care, and the shrinking proportion of the public who are willing and able to donate blood, make a synthetic or semi-synthetic oxygen carrier a desirable and a necessary adjunct to banked blood.
Artificial oxygen carriers are expected to be universally compatible, with no time-consuming testing for blood type, no transmittable pathogens or allergens, long-term storage capability under preferably non-refrigerated conditions, safe and non-toxic, and superior oxygen delivery capability, thus resulting in oxygenation of peripheral tissues even after massive blood loss. Other potential applications such as heart infarct and stroke, tumor oxygenation, sickle-cell anemia, organ preservation, autoimmune haemolysis are also under extensive investigation.
It is worth mentioning, with all of our creative and outstanding contributions, especially those made by top-scientists in the development of blood substitutes such as Dr. Thomas Chang, Dr. Winslow, Dr. Greenburg and Dr. Tsuchida, a number of products are in advanced clinical trials and nearing market realization. In China, our government and scientists are very concerned with the infectious risks of transfusion and the adequacy of the blood supply, and this promotes the development of our domestic blood substitute samples, such as bovine serum albumin-bovine hemoglobin conjugate, cross-linked hemoglobin and PEG-conjugated human, bovine, or porcine hemoglobin.
Maybe there is still a long rocky road ahead in the search for a clinically useful oxygen carrier. The development of an effective and safe oxygen carrier to replace blood transfusion is an extreme challenge. However, we are confident that our arduous and time-consuming work will ultimately advance the field of oxygen carriers towards eventual success and patient benefit.
It is due to your keen interest that this field is expanding and exploring new frontiers. I hope this conference will provide a forum for researchers, clinicians and students in the areas of blood substitutes to exchange their latest research ideas and results and to inspire future breakthroughs. Your new insights will, without doubt, pave the way to realizing the goal of adding a blood substitute to the therapeutic armamentarium. I am certain that this forum will be enriched with the joint keynote speeches by Prof. T. Chang, Prof.Winslow, Prof. Greenburg, Prof. Gould, Prof. Yang Chengmin, Prof. Su Zhiguo, Prof. Intaglietta, Prof. Zapol, Prof. Chen Chao, Prof. Tsuchida, Prof. Bucci, Prof. Kobayashi and Prof. Xiu Ruijuan.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the members of the Planning Committee for their hard work to make this conference a reality. The success of this event is due to their efforts. Several sponsors deserve my special thanks for their generous financial contributions to the conference. Moreover, I would like to present my special gratitude to Prof. Xiu ruijuan. Her great leadership and hard work make the Symposium a success.
Finally, I wish you all a productive conference ahead and a most enjoyable stay in Beijing!
Thank you!