Open Meeting Program

A program overview for the Blood Synergy Open Meeting 2025 is now available. Join us for a hybrid meeting on Tuesday May 27th to hear from our research team and collaborators. Register now to attend either on-site or online. Registration closes May 26th.

Posted: March 2025

ICU Outcomes Published

Outcomes of our latest study of transfusion practice in ICU in Australia & New Zealand, gathered though the InPUT study were recently published in Critical Care Explorations, and subject of an invited talk presented by Dr Andrew Flint at the SSCM Critical Care Congress 2025.

Posted: February 2025

Registration Open

Our hybrid Open Meeting 2025 will be held Tuesday 27th May, and we are pleased to invite everyone with an interest in blood products, transfusion, and clinical trials to attend. Registration is now open via Eventbrite. Register to attend either on-site or online before May 26th.

Posted: December 2024

Keep up-to-date online

We have recently expanded our social media horizons. If you spend time on LinkedIn or Bluesky, keep up-to-date with our latest activities and outcomes at linkedin.com/company/bloodsynergy or @bloodsynergy.bsky.social

Posted: November 2024

Save the date

Announcing the date of the next Blood Synergy Open Meeting as Tuesday May 27, 2025. This hybrid event will provide an opportunity to hear about the latest transfusion research and discuss future directions for the sector. Keep an eye out of more details in early 2025.

Posted: November 2024

Towards a Research roadmap

Our Transfusion in Trauma: what trial do we do next? workshop was held in October during the Trauma 2024 conference. The workshop focused on bringing together experts in trauma, transfusion, and clinical trials to develop a research roadmap.

Posted: November 2024

Another FEISTY II milestone

The FEISTY II trial has rapidly reached another major milestone - now with 300 participants recruited! Congratulations to the FEISTY II investigators and team, and thank you to all the participating sites for their continuing support of this important phase III trial.

Posted: October 2024

Big News

The Blood Synergy is super-excited to have received another 5 years funding through the NHMRC Synergy scheme. Congratulations to our wonderful team of investigators, partners, staff and students for building such a great collaborative research program. Read more here

Posted: October 2024

ISBT honours

Ms Linley Bielby recently received the ISBT award from the International Society for Blood Transfusion at the 38th ISBT Congress in Barcelona. This is a richly derserved award for Linley, and recognises her outstanding contribution to transfusion education, practice and research.

Posted: July 2024

What trial next?

Following the success of our first Transfusion in Trauma meeting in Feburary, we are pleased to announce a second meeting will be held in Brisbane on October 24th as a workshop of the TRAUMA 2024 conference run by ANZTS. See the program overview.

Posted: June 2024

Ultra-massive transfusion

Dr Marsali MacLean recently presented an analysis of outcomes of ultra-massive transfusion at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2024 Congress. The study, using the Australian and New Zealand Massive Transfusion Registry, showed ultra-massive transfusion is not futile.

Posted: June 2024

FEISTY II milestone

Congratulations to the FEISTY II team on reaching another major milestone with the recruitment of 200 participants! FEISTY II, a phase III trial comparing fibrinogen concentrate and cyroprecipitate for severe trauma, is currently recruiting at 11 sites, with even more about to open soon.

Posted: June 2024

Congratulations!

We are excited to congratulate Dr Brenton Sanderson on the award of this PhD. His studies, undertaken at the Centre of Health Informatics, Macquarie University explored the role of decision support and health informatics in massive transfusion for critical bleeding.

Posted: June 2024

Health Economics Papers

Congratulations to PhD candidate Sara Carrillo de Albornoz and co-authors on their two recent publications. Read more about the economic evaluation of immunoglobulin vs prophylactic antibiotics, and the systematic review of the costs of immunoglobulin treatment.

Posted: May 2024

International Presentations

Results from the economic evaluation of the RATIONAL trial (feasibility trial of immunoglobulin vs. antibiotics) are set to be presented at two upcoming international conferences in Spain this June - the HTAi 2024 annual meeting in Seville and the EHA2024 congress held in Madrid.

Posted: May 2024

ISBT 2024 Barcelona

The Blood Synergy team will be well represented at the ISBT 2024 congress held in Barcelona this June. We will be there to present outcomes from our Community Consultation, and provide an update on red cell transfusion strategies in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes.

Posted: March 2024

Transfusion in Trauma

The Transfusion in Trauma Meeting held in Sydney in February brought together experts in trauma medicine and transfusion to talk about research in Australia and New Zealand. Our team are proud to have facilitated the meeting and started many productive conversations.

Posted: March 2024

2024 Open Meeting

Thank you to the ~200 registrants who joined us for the 2024 Open Meeting. We enjoyed the opportunity to showcase our research, hear from international collaborators, and stimulate discussion about community engagement and translating research into practice.

Posted: February 2024

Open Meeting Program

The program for our 2024 Open Meeting is now available. Join us for a hybrid meeting on Monday February 26th to hear from our research team and international collaborators. Registration for onsite or online tickets will be open until February 25th.

Posted: January 2024

Research updates

Some recent papers to celebrate include three led by early career researchers. Flint et al. describes current transfusion practice in ICU, Mo et al. outlines a transfusion study in MDS, and Sanderson et al. reports on support tools for massive transfusion. See the full list of papers here.

Posted: January 2024

Register for the Open Meeting 2024

Our 2024 Open Meeting will be held Monday 26th February, and we are pleased to invite everyone with an interest in blood products, transfusion, and clinical trials to attend. Registration is now open. Register to attend either onsite or online before February 25th.

Posted: December 2023

2022-2023 Research Report

Announcing the publication of our latest Research Report for 2022-2023. Find out more about the Blood Synergy program and the latest research developments from our group. Take a look inside for a glimpse of what we have been up to, and where our research is heading.

Posted: November 2023

OPTIMAL CRE

Wonderful news for the OPTIMAL CRE team. They have received NHMRC funding support to establish a new Centre of Research Excellence that is focused on optimising immunoglobulin management in Australia. Congratulations to all those involved!

Posted: October 2023

New NTD website now live

The National Transfusion Dataset (NTD) now has their own website. Find out about the team, their latest activities, and how to register for the NTD meeting at the upcoming Blood2023 conference in Melbourne in November. Visit transfusiondataset.com.

Posted: September 2023

Survey Open

Calling all blood donors, recipients of blood products, and professionals working with blood. Have your say and help us shape the direction of future research. How can we improve how blood products are used in Australia? What would improve patient outcomes?

Posted: August 2023

New Publications

Our team have been busy writing. We’ve published systematic reviews and research outcomes from across a number of projects. Check out the latest papers here, with more articles making it into press over the next few months. Congratulations to all authors.

Posted: July 2023

Conference season

The Blood Synergy was well represented at international conferences and meetings in June and July. The team presented at EHA2023 in Frankfurt, the ISBT Congress in Gothenburg, HTAi in Adelaide, and the Collaborative Clinical Trials in Intensive Care conference in Prato.

Posted: July 2023

King's Birthday Honours

Congratulations to Professor Erica Wood AO! We’re thrilled that Erica was recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours List for her distinguished service to transfusion medicine and haemovigilance, to haematology, and to national and international organisations.

Posted: June 2023

Thank you for joining us

Thank you to all participants in the Blood Synergy Open Meeting 2023. We were joined in person and online by guests from across Australia and the world to hear about the latest research addressing evidence gaps in transfusion medicine. It was a thrill to hear from all our speakers!

Posted: May 2023

Welcome to Elham

Dr Elham Ashrafi joined the Blood Synergy in April as a Senior Research Officer. Elham brings to our team a wealth of experience in epidemiology and clinical registries. We look forward to her contributions to the design and analysis of a wide range of studies across our research program.

Posted: April 2023

Open Meeting 2023 Program

The full program of the Blood Synergy Open Meeting 2023 is now available to view. Join us on May 2nd to hear from our stellar line up of experts in transfusion, trauma medicine, clinical trials, and health economics. Online and onsite tickets can be obtained via the registration site.

Posted: March 2023

New Team Member

The Blood Synergy warmly welcomes Kirsten Caithness to our team. Kirsten has a Master of Public Health from Deakin University, and joins the team as a Research Officer working with the Blood Synergy and National Transfusion Dataset.

Posted: March 2023

Open Meeting 2023 Registration

We are delighted to announce that registration is now open for our Open Meeting 2023. Please join our team and partners to hear about the latest research updates, and discussion of transfusion evidence gaps and research priorities. All are welcome to this hybrid event.

Posted: February 2023

First patients recruited

Exciting news for the FEISTY II team with the first patients enrolled into the RCT. The trial compares fibrinogen concentrate to cryoprecipiate for fibrinogen replacement in haemorrhage following severe trauma. And it’s off to a flying start, recruiting 4 patients in the first 2 weeks!

Posted: December 2022

INPUT in NBA report

An update on the InPUT trial examining transfusion practice in intensive care was recently featured in the National Blood Authority’s Annual Report 2021-2022. The Australian & New Zealand arm of the study was supported by an NBA project grant, and will finalise data collection this month.

Posted: November 2022

RATIONALISE Trial Update

Congratulations to the RATIONALISE team on news of the trial opening at Monash Health and Alfred Health. We look forward to news of the first patient recruitment! The RATIONALISE trial has also recently launched their website. To find out more visit rationalisetrial.com

Posted: October 2022

New Advisory Committee Chair

We’re pleased to welcome Prof Mike Murphy as the new Chair of the Blood Synergy Advisory Committee. The committee met in October for the latest updates on Blood Synergy projects and program activities. Thank you to all participants for their input and productive discussion.

Posted: October 2022

NTD in ARDC news

News of the MRFF funding success for the National Transfusion Dataset was recently shared in the latest newsletter of the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC). Thank you to the ARDC for their partnership and ongoing support in establishing the dataset.

Posted: October 2022

Spotlight on REDDS-2

The REDDS-2 trial appeared in the September 2022 newsletter of ClinTrial Refer. The REDDS-2 study is a feasibility trial assessing a novel transfusion schedule in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes, and is currently enrolling in Australia, the UK and the Netherlands.

Posted: September 2022

MRFF Funding Success

We are thrilled that the National Transfusion Research Data Infrastructure Initiative has received $2.9 million from the Medical Research Future Fund to expand the scope of data captured in the National Transfusion Dataset, and facilitate research that addresses national priority areas.

Posted: September 2022

Blood 2022 Awards

Congratulations to all our team members presenting their work at the Blood 2022 conference in Sydney, and in particular, Dr Allison Mo for receiving the ANZSBT-National Blood Authority award for best presentation on patient blood management (for the second year running!).

Posted: September 2022

Blood 2022

Join us at Blood 2022 in beautiful Sydney this September. Presentations from our team include updates on transfusion practice in the ICU (Dr Andrew Flint), Ig use and outcomes (Dr Khai Li Chai), and Dr Allison Mo talking about platelet transfusion in MDS in the ANZSBT Presidential Symposium.

Posted: August 2022

International Haemovigilance Medal

Congratulations to Professor Erica Wood on her recent award of the International Haemovigilance Medal at the IHN-SHOT Symposium 2022. The medal is awarded in recognition of her extraordinary contribution to the work of the International Haemovigilance Network.

Posted: July 2022

RATIONAL Platform Trial

The RATIONAL Platform Trial has received funding support from the MRFF. The trial led by A/Prof Zoe McQuilten will generate evidence to improve use of immunoglobulin replacement to reduce infections in blood cancers.

Posted: June 2022

Open Meeting 2022

Thank you to everyone who joined online or in person for the Blood Synergy Open Meeting 2022. We were treated to insightful presentations, and a wonderful day of transfusion research discussions with our collaborators and colleagues across the country.

Posted: May 2022

Research Report

Want to know more about the work of the Blood Synergy? Check out our recent Research Report 2020-2021 for an introduction to some of the Blood Synergy studies and team, and a snapshot of our recent achievements.

Posted: May 2022

Welcome Thao

We are very excited to announce that Dr Thao Le has joined the Blood Synergy team. Thao is a Senior Research Fellow and biostatistician with experience in clinical trials. We look forward to her contributions to the design and analysis of a wide range of studies across our research program.

Posted: Mar 2022

MRFF funding for FEISTY II

Congratulations to our FEISTY II team led by A/Prof Zoe McQuilten and Dr James Winearls who were successful in receiving more than $3 million from the MRFF to examine fibrinogen replacement in traumatic haemorrhage.

Posted: Mar 2022

Welcome Sara

This month we welcome Sara Carrillo de Albornoz San Juan to the Blood Synergy team. Sara commences her PhD studies investigating immunoglobulin therapy in blood cancer patients working alongside A/Prof Zoe McQuilten, Prof Erica Wood and Dr Lisa Higgins, together with A/Prof Dennis Petrie from the Centre for Health Economics.

Posted: Feb 2022

Rare Disease Day

On Rare Disease Day (February 28th) we acknowledge the important work of clinical trials and registries in improving our understanding and treatments for rare blood diseases.

Posted: Feb 2022

Exciting PhD Opportunity

We have a fully-funded PhD position available to join the Blood Synergy team. The PhD project will form part of the CLIP health economics program evaluating cryopreserved platelets for routine use. Candidates must have a degree or masters in a relevant discipline, with strong academic results. Find out more

Posted: Dec 2021

Congratulations Prof Cooper AO

Congratulations to Professor Jamie Cooper AO on his appointment as Sir John Monash Distinguished Professor, Monash University, and recipient of the GSK Award for Research Excellence. The appointment and award recognise his expertise and sustained contribution to intensive care, critical illness, brain injuries and blood transfusion.

Posted: Dec 2021

Intensive Care Studies Underway

Associate Professor Zoe McQuilten is leading the Australian and New Zealand arm of the International Point Prevalence Study of Intensive Care Unit Transfusion Practices (InPUT study) benchmarking blood product use against current guidelines and international practice. Supported by the ANZICS CTG, and a National Blood Authority project grant.

Posted: Oct 2021

Convalescent plasma for COVID-19

Dr Khai Li Chai discusses her review of convalescent plasma for COVID-19 in the Cochrane Podcast.

Posted: May 2021

New National Transfusion Dataset

The Blood Synergy is proud to partner in development of a new national transfusion dataset to collect information on transfusion practice and clinical outcomes. The project (doi: 10.47486/DP708) received investment from the Australian Data Research Commons through the Australian Data Partnerships Program. The ARDC is funded by the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS).

Posted: Apr 2021

Join our Advisory Committee

We’re looking for consumer and community representatives to join our Advisory Committee to help in shaping our research program. If you’re a blood donor or blood transfusion recipient (or carer of a person who is) and you’d like to find out more, we’d love to hear from you. Please get in touch, or submit an expression of interest.

Posted: Apr 2021

Inaugural Fiona Stanley Prize

Professor Erica Wood was delighted to receive the inaugural Fiona Stanley Prize for the top-ranked 2019 Synergy grant. It was extra special that Professor Stanley herself presented the award at the NHMRC Research Excellence Awards dinner, held in Canberra in March 2020. Read more here.

Posted: Mar 2020