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HAABB History, 1998 to present
For the last six years the HAABB has held its annual
meeting in Kansas City. Speakers of national prominence have complemented local
blood bankers and transfusion medicine specialists in providing a diverse and
energizing program. Leadership in the organization is comprised mostly of
laboratory management and technical personnel from the major metropolitan areas
of Missouri and Kansas. Blood center support from ABC and ARC organizations have
been strong and vendor support is instrumental in providing our educational
program.
In 2001, the by-laws were amended to allow for a second term of office for
a President. That year Karen Thompson from Kansas City was elected to her second
term as president, her first term being in 1983.
The organization, with the expertise of Vicki Schwickerath, developed a
website, www.haabb.org in 2003.
In 2004 topics from the Annual Meeting were presented again at a Fall
Meeting in St. Louis. This was the first time a fall meeting was held.
On April 7, 2005, the
Board voted
to amend the bylaws to include a group of members called emeritus members. Two
members who were nominated to become the first emeritus members of the HAABB at
the annual meeting in Kansas City, June 10, 2005. Nominated were Mary Kowalski
and Karen Thompson who both have given so much time and energy to the HAABB
organization. Both Karen and Mary have served on the board numerous times as
well as speaking at many of the meetings. Each one was presented with a plaque
designating their status as emeritus members.
In 2007, the Organization
revived a practice of awarding a scholarship to a worthy medical technologist
student who submitted a written paper of 2 to 5 pages on a topic relevant in
today's blood banking field. The scholarship was originally for $50, but the new
award was set at $500 and a free registration to the Annual Meeting to present
the paper during the business meeting. The scholarship was awarded to
Hillary Beck from St. Luke's Hospital in Kansas City for her paper titled
"Pediatric Heart Transplantation and ABO Compatibilty.
The 2008 winner of the HAABB
Student Scholarship was Ayesha Ahmed, a student at the Clinical Laboratory
Sciences at the University of Kansas Medical Center. Her winning paper was
called: A Survey of Blood Donors: Motives and Obstacles in Donating
Blood.
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