ADVISORY/ Haemonetics to Discuss Technology's Role in Maintaining Blood Safety in Emerging Economies at Seminar for The World Bank.

Business/Technology Editors and Health/Medical Writers

ADVISORY...for Tuesday (Sept. 10, 2002)

--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Haemonetics Corporation

Who:      Haemonetics Corporation
What:     Presentation on Comprehensive Blood Management
When:     Tuesday, September 10, 12:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Where:    The World Bank, Room G7-161

Haemonetics Corporation, a leading provider of automated blood collection and processing technology, will participate in a seminar on comprehensive blood management at The World Bank in Washington D.C. on Tuesday, September 10. Haemonetics is co-sponsoring the seminar with the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB) and the Public Health Thematic Group at the request of The World Bank.

The session, to be chaired by Richard Meyers, senior operations officer at The World Bank, will take place from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. in room G7-161. At the seminar, Dr. Mark Popovsky, corporate medical director at Haemonetics, and Dr. Paul Ness, director of transfusion medicine at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, will discuss the importance of a safe blood supply as a global issue facing all levels of healthcare systems.

The presentation will also discuss the challenges of achieving an adequate blood supply in emerging economies and present double red blood cell collection and other automated blood collection technologies as potential solutions for blood safety and management. These technologies can help countries around the world optimize their blood supply, while reducing donor/patient exposure to potentially harmful blood contaminants.

Emerging economies face chronic shortages of safe blood. Even as significant attention and funding is being provided to address the demanding challenges of HIV, as well as other blood-borne diseases, safe and sufficient blood supply and blood management remain largely unattended. Factors including the absence of an official voluntary blood donation campaign and a high prevalence of viral markers in blood banks, lead to a struggle to maintain an adequate blood supply in many emerging economies.

Haemonetics spokespeople will be available at the seminar to discuss the technology in further detail. For more information or to arrange a meeting with Haemonetics, please contact Jennifer Barlow or Kim Becker at [phone] or email [e-mail].