The Wildbad Kreuth initiative: European current practices and recommendations for optimal use of blood components

With the aging population in Europe it is anticipated that the growing demand for blood products will not be met by the estimated supply. Therefore up-to-date recommendations for optimal administration of blood products in hemotherapy are needed. Ten years after the first meeting on optimal use of blood products at Wildbad Kreuth, Germany, a second symposium was organized to convene leading experts from the clinical, regulatory and economic perspective. The aim was to re-evaluate the existing state of hemotherapy, identify areas where further studies are needed, and to provide up-dated recommendations. A preparatory survey by questionnaire concerning guidelines, quality management in clinical use of blood products, provision of products in the individual countries and re-evaluation of the 1999 Wildbad Kreuth recommendations was completed in advance. The second Kreuth Meeting in April 2009 was attended by 110 experts in transfusion medicine, regulators and regulatory authorities from 38 countries. By consensus, 20 new recommendations were adopted. Most of the 1999 recommendations were found to still be valid 10 years later. But their realization and implementation on the levels of clinical practice, regulatory authorities and health policy decision makers is still lagging behind leaving an important task to accomplish. The Kreuth initiative toward optimal use of blood products should continue.