EAPM COURSE

NEONATAL BLOOD TRANSFUSIONS (incl. UMBILICAL CORD BLOOD) AND HEMATOLOGIC DISORDERS

Coordinator: Enrico Lopriore, MD, PhD, Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC)

Wednesday, 26th November 2025

Registration fee: 65 € (plus 22% VAT)

Course Overview

The goal of this comprehensive 4-hour web course is to provide participants evidence-based information on transfusions of blood products in neonates, including the potential future use of umbilical cord blood. In addition, we will discuss neonatal hematologic disorders such as hemolytic disease of the fetus/neonate (HDFN) and fetal/neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (FNAIT).

Target audience

Neonatologists
Pediatricians
Hematologists
Transfusion specialists

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, participants will:

Know the pro’s and con’s of RBC and platelet transfusions, and the currently used thresholds
Appreciate the potential future value of umbilical cord blood as a source of blood transfusions
Understand the current state-of the art of management of alloimmune diseases such as HDFN and FNAIT

Program Schedule

14:00 – 14:10 Introduction and objectives

Speaker: Enrico Lopriore

14:10 – 14:30 RBC transfusions

Speaker: Genny Rafaelli

14:30 – 14:50 Platelet transfusions

Speaker: Hilde van der Staaij

14:50 – 15:10 Umbilical Cord Blood for neonatal transfusions

Speaker: Valeria Cortesi

15:10 – 15:30 Short Break

15:30 – 15:50 HDFN: management and outcome

Speaker: Marloes Kuijpers

15:50 – 16:10 FNAIT: management and outcome

Speaker: Romy Pothof

16:10 – 16:40 Discussion with participants

Moderator: Enrico Lopriore

Enrico Lopriore

, MD, PhD

Leiden, The Netherlands

is a professor of neonatology and fetal medicine and head of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC).

Neonatology and fetal medicine
His research focuses mainly on the origin, management and outcome in various fetal disorders, including complicated monochorionic twins (with TTS, TAPS or sIUGR) and fetal hematologic diseases (anemia or thrombocytopenia). The ultimate goal of his research is to improve perinatal survival and in particular the long-term outcome in these vulnerable babies.

Academic career
Enrico Lopriore absolved Medical School and his doctoral research at Leiden University. The title of his doctoral thesis (2006) reads ‘Twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome: from placental anastomoses to long-term outcome’. He was appointed Professor in Neonatology of the Leiden University Medical Center in July 2016. The title of his inaugural lecture was ‘Blood brothers‘.

Genny Raffaeli

is a neonatologist and clinical researcher at Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, University of Milan in Italy.
Passionate about neonatal care, her research field is neonatal critical care with a focus on pharmacologyand hematology.
She has performed clinical research to evaluate the thromboelastographic profile of preterm infants over the first month of life, and she applied this hemostatic monitoring across different prematurity-related diseases.
More recently she gained clinical and scientific experience also in the optimization of blood products for critically-ill newborns.
She is an active member of the Italian Society of Neonatology (SIN) and European Society of Pediatric Research (ESPR).

Valeria Cortesi

Italy

Romy Pothof

, Leiden University Medical Center

The Netherlands

Romy Pothof is a PhD candidate at Leiden University Medical Centre and Sanquin Diagnostic Services Amsterdam. Her research focuses on Fetal and Neonatal Alloimmune Thrombocytopenia (FNAIT), a rare condition caused by incompatibility between fetal and maternal platelets. This incompatibility results in the development of maternal alloantibodies, which increase the risk of bleeding in the fetus and neonate. With a broad range of interests, she is involved in different aspects of FNAIT research, from exploring the optimal mode of delivery for affected pregnancies to investigating differences between HPA-1a and HPA-5b alloantibodies. Her latest paper focused on establishing expert consensus on FNAIT management and exploring the potential for a screening program through a Delphi consensus study. Looking ahead with great enthusiasm, she aspires to build her future as both a scientist and a medical doctor.

Marloes Kuijpers

, Leiden University Medical Center

The Netherlands

Hilde van der Staaij

The Netherlands

Leiden University Medical Centre