Delegation Visit to Germany – 29-30 April 2017

The medical, social and economic challenges of haemoglobinopathies (thalassaemia and sickle cell disease) are increasingly being acknowledged in Europe, mainly as a result of migrant influxes of recent years from highly prevalent countries of the Middle East, Africa, and South East Asia. Hence, the necessity for developing and implementing national newborn screening programmes in European countries is growing. Aiming to bring together experiences from across Europe in prevention and screening programmes for these disorders, and aspiring for a joint publication of guidelines/ recommendations on how to develop regional/ national programmes, the Charite Hospital (Berlin) organised a Pan-European Conference on New-Born Screening, between April 29th and 30th, 2017.

The Thalassaemia International Federation (TIF) was represented by Dr Michael Angastiniotis, TIF Medical Advisor, who had the opportunity to present best practice examples from around the world and participate in the discussions that followed. The Conference was attended by over 40 experts in the field from 26 countries.