WMDA

Last chance to join! Sign up here: https://lnkd.in/ezbaUmzM Don't miss our panel discussion on Genetic Findings in Donors for Cell and Gene Therapy – a dynamic, open session for WMDA members. Discover insights on genetic testing, donor disclosure and consent, and other evolving responsibilities in the field. Register TODAY to participate online and join us as we explore these essential topics with our esteemed panelists: Abeer Madbouly, PhD, Meghann Cody, and Thilo Mengling. NMDP WMDA #MidTermMeeting #OneFORUM #CGT #CellularTherapy

Collaborating for Data Security Compliance  WMDA’s Security & Privacy, Standards and Accreditation Steering Committees are working together to ensure our members meet the highest standards of data security. This collaboration is key to transitioning the current peer-review programme into a robust, audit-based system to protect sensitive data within Match-Connect, WMDA’s registry-to-registry communication solution for donor-patient matching. During the upcoming MidTerm Meeting in Minneapolis on November 7, Committee members will have the opportunity to dive deeper into this important initiative. Together, we’re enhancing global collaboration while safeguarding data security and operational integrity. #DataSecurity #WMDA #Collaboration #Compliance #TechInnovation #NMDP #ONEForum Virgílio Cervantes, Ph.D, Hans-Peter Eberhard, Garth Healey, Ingrid Tistl

Nearly half of voluntary donations come from donors in different countries than the recipients, underscoring the vital role of cross-border cooperation in saving lives. Sharing aims with SoHO legislation, the WMDA Standards, pave the way to facilitate these global exchanges.      WMDA Standards like 6.02 and 8.08.4 set essential guidelines to manage and streamline these international donations, bridging the distance between donors and patients and giving hope to thousands.     Proud to support the initiatives that bring the world closer for a common cause. 🌐  #GlobalHealth #WMDA #SoHORegulation #Standards #LifeSavingDonations #Collaboration #Certification #EU European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare (EDQM), Council of Europe Council of the European Union EGALiTE Europe

On the Path to ISO 27001 Compliance 🔒  At WMDA, we are committed to strengthening our information security to meet the highest industry standards. As part of our strategic goals, we are actively pursuing ISO 27001 compliance to ensure that our processes, data management, and systems are fully aligned with global best practices.  Achieving this certification is key to safeguarding the sensitive information we handle and reinforces our dedication to maintaining a secure, trusted environment for our partners and stakeholders. #ISO27001 #InformationSecurity #DataProtection #CyberSecurity #WMDA #TechExcellence Cyber4Z ISO - International Organization for Standardization

Who are your volunteer heroes? At WMDA we are so lucky to work with so many engaged and skilled volunteers.     Today, we'd like to highlight the Cord Blood Operations Committee.     Established in 2007 under the name Cord Blood Working Group (CBWG), the main goals were to:   • Gather and exchange information about cord blood registry needs and activities  • Develop guidelines to support and promote safe effective international exchange of unrelated CBUs for transplantation    We've come a long way since then; strengthening our strategic partnership with Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT) to establish a close connection with the cord blood banking accreditation standards, initiating a partnership with the ISCT, International Society for Cell & Gene Therapy to better support and represent our cord blood bank members and facilitating listing of units from hybrid cord blood banks (offering banks the opportunity to also list privately stored cord blood units, of parents have given consent for public use as well), to name but a few successes.    Our current goal is to have as much data as possible available in WMDA Search & Match Service, so that search coordinators can easily select cord blood units for their patients. A special flag to easily identify well-typed units will be implemented to this end as well in the beginning of 2025.    We are so grateful to all the people involved in this committee over the years. Special thanks to Dunia Jawdat, PhD, D(ABMLI), Alexandra Ross, Irina Evseeva, Nerea Castillo Flores,MD,PhD, Sergio Querol, Alexander Platz, Gesine Kögler, Arun Prasath, Dave Miller, Diane Fournier, Etienne Baudoux, Hope Guidry-Groves, Jessica Sue, Jesus Fernandez Sojo, Fumihiko Ishimaru, Minoko Takanashi, Wouter Van 't Hof, Roger Horton, Medhat Askar, MD, PhD, MSHPE, FRCPath, Ngaire Elwood AM, Lin Liu, Joanne Kurtzberg, Guy Klamer. #cordblood #stemcells #Member #volunteer #Volunteers #innovation #healthcare 

Prioritizing Security: Penetration Testing in Progress  With help from Cyber4Z, WMDA is conducting comprehensive penetration testing on several of our core WMDA applications, including: CRM, SPEAR Reporting Tool, Match-Connect and Data Manager. Penetration testing is a critical step in ensuring our systems are robust, secure, and protected against vulnerabilities. By proactively identifying and addressing potential risks, we are safeguarding both our data and the sensitive information we manage on behalf of our global partners. Security is a continuous priority, and we’re committed to keeping our systems resilient for the benefit of everyone we serve. #CyberSecurity #PenTesting #DataSecurity #WMDA #TechInnovation #InformationSecurity 

On World Development Information Day (United Nations) we would like to give a shout-out to a very special young man from Cameroon, Armand Jiresse Trésor BAMI-NYANJI. Armand is a general practitioner, working at the Hopital Saint Jean de Malté de Njombé in Cameroon. He first contacted the WMDA office in September 2020 to seek more information about setting up a registry for voluntary stem cell donation in his country.  Ever since, we've kept in touch, and recently Armand informed us that he managed to get a visa to visit France and the Netherlands to gain more knowledge about stem cell transplantation and donation.   We arranged a visit for him at AGENCE DE LA BIOMEDECINE where they met with one of our wonderful members, Dr. Federico Garnier. He was able to give them valuable information and guidance.   Yesterday, Armand and his colleague, Sindy SEMELANE, drove all the way from Paris (France) to meet with Martine Schuit in Leiden (The Netherlands). It was a very inspiring meeting, as Martine said afterwards: 'it's not every day I get to meet people that are determined to make a difference in the world. And though all the cards might seem stacked against them, they don't get discouraged. I was a bit skeptical when Armand first wrote to me back in 2020, but I've learned since that he is a remarkable man, with a strong will, a kind heart, very smart and humble. I wouldn't be surprised if he can actually achieve the goals he's set to improve the current situation of patients with a blood disease in his country and it will be an honor to help him.'  

Who are your volunteer heroes? At WMDA we are so lucky to work with so many engaged and skilled volunteers.     Today, we'd like to highlight the volunteers of the WMDA Donor Recruitment and Retention Committee. This committee is all about sharing and informing approaches through learnings, recognising the differing cultural values that exist across the globe.     They aim to:  -Share best practice and support the advancement of registries across the globe  -Help establish consistency of messaging to safeguard the reputation of WMDA's global network  -Maximise opportunities to grow diversity of the registers, with a view to increasing Black and Minority Ethnic donors  -Unlock funding opportunities beyond individual members on a global scale    Under the guidance of a wonderful group of talented women: Marti Freund, chair of the committee, and dedicated members Christine Phillips, Rebecca Whitwick and Kate Levy the committee will work on the following topics:  1) Communication: create an overview/library of all campaigns and materials that are used by WMDA members for recruitment and retention purposes, preferably including an analysis of the impact after use. This way we will have more insights in what works well and what doesn’t.  2) Digital Innovations: create an overview of what’s currently being used by WMDA members (e.g. donor portals, apps) to define the landscape and see how we can establish best practices.   3) Donor transfers: currently there is no good policy for donors that move to a different country, but want to remain a voluntary donor. With the level of globalisation we suspect it happens quite often that donors move to another country and we would like to be able to provide a clear policy that our members can use in such cases and also to inform the donors.   4) Retention: We have great ideas, which can be developed into practical deliverables, e.g.:   a) Set up a forum to define best practices and to share insights and knowledge  b) Well-targeted recruitment of donors   c) Keep donors engaged and willing   d) Benchmarking  e) Quality data  5) WMDA Handbook: bi-annual reviews and updates of chapter 3 (Recruitment of Volunteer Donors) are required to keep our members informed.  Any thoughts on these topics? Let us know in the comments. Thanks! #DonorRecruitment #DonorRetention #Member #volunteer #Volunteers  #innovation #healthcare

Exciting News for WMDA Data Manager Users!  We’re thrilled to announce that the Data Manager service is now available for testing in our sandbox environment!🎉 This is your chance to explore the new features and functionality before our official release. 🔒 As part of our ongoing commitment to security, we’ve introduced Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) to protect your data and ensure secure access. All users will now be required to set up MFA for the Data Manager service. 💡 Whether you're using the GUI or API, we encourage all users to log into the sandbox environment, test the new updates, and familiarise yourself with the changes. 👉 Didn't Get Your "Welcome" Email ✉️ or Need Help? 💁♀️ If you did not receive a "Welcome" email this week or you encounter any issues, please contact our support team at [email protected] Let’s make sure you’re ready for a smooth transition when the official launch happens! 💪 #data #datamanager #MFA #security #cybersecurity #innovation #datamanagement #datascience #tech #update #technology #nonprofit

🚀 Strategic Planning Workshop: Driving Innovation in IT 🚀  Our IT team gathered at Element Offices on Monday, October 7th, for a full-day strategic planning workshop! The agenda was packed with forward-thinking discussions on critical topics like:  🔹 Governance updates within WMDA  🔹 ISO 27001 Information Security compliance  🔹 Streamlining HLA Validation processes  🔹 Breaking down phases for the Data Manager Project  Special guest Hans-Peter Eberhard, WMDA Board Pillar 1 representative and Head of IT operations at ZKRD, will join us to share his expertise and help us toward our 2024/2025 project plan. #ITLeadership #StrategicPlanning #Innovation #Teamwork #TechExcellence