World Thrombosis Day campaign announces annual advocacy award winners

Award winners from Ukraine, Ireland, United States and China highlight campaign’s global presence and engagement

CHAPEL HILL, NC, USA, October 11, 2023 — The International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH) today announced the recipients of its prestigious global thrombosis advocacy awards for the World Thrombosis Day campaign, which celebrates its 10^th anniversary this year. The World Thrombosis Day advocacy awards include the 2023 Patient Ambassador of the Year Award and the 2023 Activity of the Year Award.

World Thrombosis Day is an international campaign that culminates on October 13, shining a spotlight on the condition of thrombosis, commonly known as blood clots. Thousands of World Thrombosis Day partner organizations recognize the campaign by hosting a culmination of more than 10,000 activities worldwide each year.

This year, the award program launched a new offering of two categories for the Activity of the Year Award: Activity of the Year Award for a High-Income Country and an Activity of the Year Award for an ISTH Reach-the-World Country (as classified by the World Bank). The new award categories provide an opportunity to recognize World Thrombosis Day partner organizations’ efforts and activities, regardless of economic status or resources.

The World Thrombosis Day 2023 advocacy award winners are as follows:

• Patient Ambassador of the Year: Ann Marie O’Neill (Ireland)
• Activity of the Year (High-Income Country): Anticoagulation Forum (U.S.)
• Activity of the Year (Reach-the-World Country): MedExpert Ukraine (Ukraine)
• Activity of the Year – Honorable mention: National VTE Prevention Program (China)

The World Thrombosis Day Patient Ambassador of the Year Award recognizes an outstanding, passionate member of the thrombosis advocacy community who is dedicated to building awareness about thrombosis in his or her community, region, country and/or globally. After surviving multiple blood clots, award recipient Ann Marie O’Neill set out to build a network of support and resources for thrombosis patients in Ireland.

In 2016, she founded Thrombosis Ireland, a not-for-profit organization focused on promoting thrombosis awareness among patients, healthcare professionals and the public. O’Neill has organized countless awareness events and activities across Ireland, including a national roll-out of blood clot patient alert cards, an annual educational and patient support conference, the prestigious VTE Exemplar Awards and a “Stop the Clot Roadshow” with educational activities at hospitals across Ireland.

“I am so honored to receive this award. It has been my passion for the last nine years to raise national and international awareness about thrombosis, the risk factors and signs and symptoms.” said O’Neill. “I believe that a partnership with healthcare professionals and patients works. Together we are stronger.”

For the World Thrombosis Day 2023 Activity of the Year Award in the High-Income Country category, the campaign recognizes the Anticoagulation Forum for its multifaceted advocacy activities across the U.S. The organization’s thrombosis awareness activities included a successful webinar series with 11 sessions, Boot Camps and updated thrombosis guidance and educational materials.

“This prestigious award not only acknowledges our efforts but, more importantly, it shines a spotlight on the importance of thrombosis awareness, prevention and optimized management,” said Anticoagulation Forum President Allison Burnett. “The Anticoagulation Forum extends its thanks to the incredible individuals who support our organizational mission and share our vision for widespread stewardship over essential antithrombotic therapies. Let us continue to work together to make a positive impact and inspire others to get involved.”

MedExpert Ukraine is the recipient of the 2023 Activity of the Year Award in the ISTH Reach-the-World Country category. MedExpert hosted an online educational conference focused on thrombosis topics for healthcare professionals. Amid uncertain times in Ukraine, the conference was streamed from a bomb shelter with minimal energy sources; despite this, the event was a success with more than 10,000 online participants.

“The MedExpert group of companies is sincerely grateful for the recognition of our work on the development of thromboprophylaxis in Ukraine,” said MedExpert CEO Dana Baktiarova. “We have been supporting the World Thrombosis Day movement for six years in a row. Even the war in the country did not stop our efforts. We continue to create quality educational content for Ukrainian doctors and are sincerely grateful for the support of our colleagues from all over the world.”

Additionally, World Thrombosis Day recognizes the National VTE Prevention Program of China as an honorable mention awardee for the 2023 Activity of the Year in the Reach-the-World category. The partner organization hosted a national scientific conference on the topic of thrombosis prevention and management, as well as collaborated with 1,200 hospitals in China to participate in the National VTE Prevention Program.

All award winners were selected following a rigorous review by an award selection sub-group of the World Thrombosis Day Steering Committee of the ISTH. The final award recipients were selected by committee members with no affiliation to the candidates.

To learn more about World Thrombosis Day, visit www.worldthrombosisday.org.

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About the International Society on Thrombosis and Hemostasis (ISTH)

Founded in 1969, the ISTH is the leading worldwide medical and scientific professional Society dedicated to advancing the understanding, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of conditions related to thrombosis and hemostasis. ISTH is an international medical-scientific professional membership organization with more than 7,000 clinicians, researchers, and educators working together to improve the lives of patients in more than 124 countries around the world. Among its highly regarded activities and initiatives are education and standardization programs, research activities, meetings and congresses, peer-reviewed publications, expert committees, and World Thrombosis Day on 13 October. Visit ISTH online at www.isth.org.

CONTACT:

Melissa DiMercurio
ISTH Media Relations Manager

Melissa_dimercurio@isth.org