A New European Network, EuroBloodNet, will ensure better care for MDS patients
14 Mar. 2017Patients with rare blood disorders will benefit from networks of excellence across Europe
EuroBloodNet was launched at the third conference on European Reference Networks (ERNs) yesterday in Vilnius, Lithuania
European Reference Networks (ERN) is an initiative of the European Commission and consists of networks of healthcare providers and centres of excellence across Europe aimed at improving quality, safety, and access to highly specialised healthcare.
Through these networks, healthcare providers have access to a much larger knowledge pool and patients have better chances of receiving the best treatment.
EuroBloodNet, the European Reference Network for rare hematological diseases, brings together 66 highly specialized hospital centres with expertise on malignant and non-malignant rare blood diseases.
MDS Patients are represented
Patient involvement is key, so the haematology patient community elected five representatives for EuroBloodNet. Sophie Wintrich, from the MDS UK Patient Support Group, is among them, to ensure that the patient voice is fully represented.
This is a great achievement and a proof that the role of patients is increasingly recognised in clinical care.
After their first meeting in January 2017 in Paris, EuroBloodNet will gather again at the Congress of the European Hematology Association, between 22-25 June, in Madrid, Spain.