International Society of Blood Transfusion

The International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT) is a scientific society founded in 1935 which promotes the study of blood transfusion and provides information about the ways in which blood transfusion medicine and science can best serve patients' interests. The society's central office is in Amsterdam, and there are around 1900 members in 103 countries. As of June 2024, the president of the ISBT is Pierre Tiberghien. ISBT is governed by a voluntary board of 16 directors, representing all WHO regions. ISBT has 16 scientific working parties, which are groups of ISBT members promoting science, research and best practice in their specific areas of expertise. ISBT advocates for standardisation and harmonisation in the field of blood transfusion. The other major impact on the transfusion community is the classification of various human blood group systems under a common nomenclature. ISBT's coordination also extends to obtaining donors with rare antigens, a process that often involves international searches in which common terminology is critical. The ISBT Code of Ethics was developed in response to the World Health Assembly resolution WHA 28.72. This resolution called for the establishment of: appropriately governed national blood services; voluntary non-remunerated blood donations (VNRBD); and the promotion of the health of both blood donors and recipients of blood. ISBT works as a non-state actor in official relations with WHO. ISBT collaborated with WHO to produce "Educational modules on clinical use of blood".