Sebel Albert Park Hotel in Melbourne on Saturday, 25 February 2012

The PNHSAA held its first national conference at the Sebel Albert Park Hotel in Melbourne on Saturday, 25 February 2012.  The Association had an overwhelming response with 55 PNHSAA members representing VIC, NSW, WA and QLD coming together to meet each other as well as widening their knowledge about PNH.  A video presentation on PNH 101, presented and recorded by Dr. Monica Bessler (MD, PhD) at the 2010 AA & MDS International Conference in Washington DC, commenced the informative session of the Conference.  This presentation answered many questions to those in attendance but also provided an opportunity to raise questions about the disease and treatment.

Following the presentation, Prof. Jeff Szer, Clinical Haematologist at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, led a discussion on PNH fundamentals and facilitated the much eager ‘question and answer’ session in which topics such as available treatments, blood transfusions, splenectomy and new research were discussed.

Following the informative session of the conference, PNH members enjoyed a banquet dinner which provided all an opportunity to share stories, discuss the presentations of the day and form friendships.

The Committee would like to thank all members who attended the event and your positive feedback.  We would also like to extend our thanks to the AA & MDS International Foundation which supplied us with Dr. Bessler’s video presentation, Prof. Jeff Szer, special guest Michael Brown from the Royal Melbourne Hospital and all the staff at Sebel Albert Park Hotel for their assistance in making the conference a success.