At the EAHAD 2020 Congress, in The Hague, Netherlands, we honoured professionals who have made exemplary contributions to the haemophilia and allied disorders community in Europe and around the world with the EAHAD Recognition Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Haemophilia and Allied Disorders field. One of the recipients is Prof. Wolfgang Schramm, Emeritus Professor of Haemophilia at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich. We took the opportunity to interview Prof. Schramm on his accomplishments, his views on the current state of haemophilia care, as well as any advice he might have for aspiring professionals entering the bleeding disorders field.  

The training network of the EDUCational Program on Factor VIII Immunogenicity (EDUC8) is looking for 8 early stage researchers for a total of 8 doctoral research projects across 8 institutes in Europe.

By Emeritus Prof. Christopher Ludlam and Prof. John McVey, EAHAD-DB Coagulation Factor Variant Database Steering Group   Last year the databases moved to new locations and we would urge all users to bookmark the new sites especially if they access them directly. The databases are available from the EAHAD Coagulation Factor Database home page (dbs.eahad.org) or directly using the links in the table below.

From 4 to 7 February, the EAHAD 2020 Congress took place in The Hague, Netherlands, with “A Golden Age of Treatment Choice” as its theme. More than 2300 delegates gathered at the World Forum for innovative discussions on the latest developments in the haemophilia and bleeding disorders field.   We asked some prominent members of the EAHAD community to share their feedback on our 13th Annual Congress.

This past February, Dr David Stephensen became the new Physiotherapists Committee Chair, taking over from Dr Sébastien Lobet. We recently had the opportunity to talk with Dr Stephensen and asked him among other things about his background, his motivation in helping establish the committee, his plans for the future, as well as the challenges associated with physiotherapy in haemophilia and bleeding disorders in Europe.  

This past February, Mary Kavanagh (Children’s Health Ireland hospital in Crumlin) became our new Nurses Committee Chair, taking over from Elsbeth Müller-Kägi. We recently had the opportunity to talk with Ms Kavanagh about her background, her plans for the future, as well as the challenges associated with nursing care in haemophilia and bleeding disorders in Europe.  

In December 2019, the EAHAD Nurses Committee launched a call for applications for two new members. After carefully looking into all applications, the Committee chose Linda Myrin Westesson, from Sweden, and Greta Mulders, from The Netherlands, to join the existing members of the group.

From 4 to 7 February, the EAHAD 2020 Congress took place in The Hague, Netherlands. The theme of this year’s Congress was “A Golden Age of Treatment Choice” and, indeed, more than 2300 delegates experienced diverse sessions and presentations of the highest caliber. The 13th Annual Congress took place at the World Forum, under the direction of Congress President, Prof. Dr. Karin Fijn van Draat and was the place to be for innovative discussions on the latest developments in the haemophilia and bleeding disorders field.

It is with profound grief that the European Association for Haemophilia and Allied Disorders informs that Axel Seuser, MD, passed away on Tuesday 4 February, during the EAHAD 2020 Congress in The Hague.

By Paul McLaughlin, EAHAD Physiotherapists Committee member, EAHAD Regional Coordinator (UK)   Pain is a symptom of many disease processes and sometimes can be present even without a disease.