Blood Banks Association of New York State

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Blood Banks Association of New York State

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BBANYS is a nonprofit, professional organization dedicated to improving transfusion medicine in New York by fostering education and the exchange of ideas.

10/29/2026

New York State's guidelines currently describe babesiosis as a very rare risk of transfusion.

However, the patients receiving transfusions are often those at the highest risk for severe disease, including the elderly, immunocompromised individuals, critically ill patients, and neonates. So, what can we do, as laboratory and health care professionals, to provide a safer blood supply for some of the most vulnerable members within our communities?

🩸 The FDA recommends nucleic acid testing of blood donations in high-risk states, including New York.

🩸 Reporting is key: for example, any transfusion-related case must be reported to the collecting facility and the Blood Tissue Resources Program.

❓ What are some of the ways you are working to fight the threat of ? Share in the comments!

Then, check out the full podcast episode with Dr. Kevin Dell’Aquila to learn more! Link in comments.

10/27/2026

Join us tomorrow, Wednesday, October 28 at 3pm EDT for the next session of the 2026 BBANYS Fall Webinar Series, presented by Dr. Nalan Yurtsever, an Assistant Professor of Laboratory Medicine at Yale University School of Medicine with expertise in transfusion medicine and apheresis. She currently serves as the Medical Director of the Clinical Laboratory and Assistant Medical Director of the Blood Bank at Bridgeport Hospital. Dr. Yurtsever is committed to improving laboratory quality to enhance both diagnosis and treatment. Her work aims to advance laboratory testing methods and deepen the understanding of transfusion-related challenges to improve patient outcomes.

Register now ➡️ https://bbanys.org/event-6844084

10/22/2026

🔗 https://open.spotify.com/episode/5aDtY2tWUWthHEO9PAym1V
🔗 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lecture-series-babesia-a-tick-borne-parasite/id1539159469?i=1000797655890

In this episode, Dr. Kevin Dell’Aquila, a pathology resident at NYU Langone Hospital-Long Island, explores babesiosis, an intraerythrocytic parasitic infection with deep roots in New York, where the state’s first human case was identified in Suffolk County in 1975. He covers how Babesia spreads through tick bites, mother-to-fetus transmission, and blood transfusion. He also explains why the same tick that carries Lyme disease and anaplasmosis makes coinfection a real clinical concern. The episode then turns to transfusion-transmitted babesiosis: why asymptomatic donors can carry the parasite for months, why vulnerable recipients face the greatest risk, and how donor screening and New York’s reporting requirements help protect patients. It’s a concise look at an underrecognized threat to transfusion safety and what blood bank professionals can do about it.

Listen to all episodes 🎙: https://bbanys.org/podcasts

10/19/2026

BBANYS hosts quarterly journal clubs where our community can discuss and critically evaluate recent publications and foster interest in sharing and exchanging new ideas. We hope you will participate in these discussions!

Join us for the next session on Wednesday, November 11 at 3pm EST, facilitated by Dr. Bobbie Pelham-Webb of New York Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center, who will lead the discussion on "Recent Advances in Gene Therapy for Sickle Cell Disease". Journal club sessions are free for all BBANYS members to attend!

Register here ➡️ https://bbanys.org/event-6818799

10/16/2026

Can't get enough of BBANYS? Come support your fellow BBANYS members at ! Swipe through to check out all the cutting edge research and sessions being presented by your colleagues throughout the AABB Annual Meeting, October 17-19, in Atlanta.

View the full schedule here: https://2026aabbannualmeeting.eventscribe.net/agenda.asp?pfp=Browse%20by%20Day

10/15/2026

Are you interested in getting more involved with the Blood Banks Association of New York State (BBANYS)? We are looking for early career professionals who are interested in promoting the specialty of transfusion medicine, improving educational and networking opportunities for junior members, and becoming leaders in the field.

Learn more about this exciting opportunity and submit your nomination by the deadline of Friday, October 30: https://bbanys.org/news/13746129

10/14/2026

Join us on Wednesday, October 28 at 3pm EDT for the next session of the 2026 BBANYS Fall Webinar Series! Dr. Nalan Yurtsever, Assistant Professor of Laboratory Medicine at Yale School of Medicine, will present "Transfusion Reaction Dataset." It is well-established that transfusion reactions are under-reported with rates being markedly lower for some serious reactions such as transfusion associated circulatory overload (TACO). This session will describe the implementation and results of a retrospective alert system to enhance recognition and reporting of transfusion reactions, as well as discuss how to apply the data to daily practice to improve patient outcomes.

Register today *free for BBANYS members* ➡️ https://bbanys.org/event-6844084

10/13/2026

Are you going to in Atlanta, GA later this week? BBANYS will be there and we want to hang out with you! We have two exciting opportunities for you to get together with your BBANYS friends and colleagues.

🍛 Sunday, October 18, Lunch
Connect and dine with your fellow BBANYS Members! Two lunch tables will be reserved in the Exhibit Hall from 11:30 am–1:00 pm.

🍹 Sunday, October 18, Happy Hour Sponsored by Metro Blood Service
Please RSVP to the Evite sent by BBANYS President, Dr. Rob DeSimone, which contains more details, to confirm attendance.

We look forward to seeing you all soon! 👋

09/30/2026

Alloantibodies identified at one hospital are often invisible to the next, leaving patients at risk for transfusion delays and hemolytic reactions when their history doesn't follow them. The Alloantibody Exchange closes that gap with a national service for transfusion medicine history review. Participating sites set up an automated, secure data upload, so any member site can check whether a patient has a documented antibody history elsewhere — a database that now covers more than five million patients.

Join us next Wednesday, October 7 at 3pm EDT for the first session of the 2026 BBANYS Fall Webinar Series. Dr. R. George Hauser, a founder and volunteer for the Alloantibody Exchange, will introduce the Exchange, explain how lab reports are shared, and present case examples to demonstrate how the Exchange is helping improve patient care.

Register now ➡️ https://bbanys.org/event-6844008

09/23/2026

Join us on Wednesday, October 7 at 3pm EDT for the first session of the 2026 BBANYS Fall Webinar Series! Dr. R. George Hauser, Associate Professor of Laboratory Medicine at Yale School of Medicine, will present "Alloantibody Exchange: 5M Patients and Counting." This talk introduces the Exchange, walks through how records and reference lab PDFs are shared, and presents case reports showing how a more complete transfusion history changes decisions and improves patient care.

Register today *free for BBANYS members* ➡️ https://bbanys.org/event-6844008

Address

450 Lakeville Rd
Lake Success, NY
11020

Website

https://www.bbanys.org/

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