The Michigan Association of Blood Banks' 72nd Annual Meeting will be held September 9 & 10, 2026 from 8:00am - 4:00pm each day, in-person at the Schoolcraft College Vistatech Center (18600 Haggerty Road, Livonia, MI 48152), room VT 500, and virtually.
The Annual Meeting offers a unique chance to connect with transfusion medicine professionals from across the field. Network with fellow experts, engage with vendors, explore cutting-edge technologies, and take home swag. Most importantly, gain valuable insights from both early-career professionals and seasoned experts who will enhance your understanding of the latest advancements in transfusion medicine.
Registration is now open! Please register as soon as possible, preferably by 5 pm on September 8. On-site registration will be offered after online registration closes.
In-Person and Virtual Attendance Options
- We are pleased to offer both in-person and virtual attendance options for this year’s meeting. The virtual format will feature live-streamed sessions, enabling remote participants to engage in real time from any location.
- You may become an MABB member or renew your membership when you register. If you are not currently an MABB member and wish to join at registration, or if you need to renew your 2026 membership, you may register at the member rate. New memberships will be valid through December 2027.
- Each institutional member may send ONE non-member at the member rate. All others must be individual members to qualify for the member rate.
- To cancel a registration for a day and receive a refund, send a request to mabbofficemanager@gmail.com by the start of the meeting on that day.
- Email questions about registration or other aspects of this meeting to Cristey Pebley at mabbofficemanager@gmail.com.
Course Description
In accordance with the Michigan Association of Blood Banks (MABB) mission statement, the 72nd annual meeting program consists of presentations on many diverse topics with a linked theme of promoting the highest standard of patient care for our respective patient populations. After completing this activity, participants will be able to utilize best practices in blood bank management and management of various transfusion medicine cases.
The target audience for this program is physicians, house officers, medical laboratory scientists, and other healthcare professionals.
Objectives
At the conclusion of this activity, participants will be able to:
- Apply tools in creating and reformatting procedures
- Prepare members of their healthcare team to respond, if necessary, to blood legislation in their state
- Evaluate strong and conditional recommendations for restrictive platelet transfusion strategies and implications for implementation at their institution
- Use best practices when communicating science to the public
- Describe current group O red blood cell inventory management recommendations
- Develop mitigation strategies to minimize a cyberattack's effects on patient safety and quality assurance
- Review the significance of antibodies to globo-family antigens
- Prospectively monitor response to platelet transfusion
- Develop mitigation strategies for high consequence pathogen testing
- Describe gene therapy for sickle cell patients
- Describe the Lutheran Blood Group System and related transfusion recommendations
P.A.C.E. Credit
MABB is approved as a provider of continuing education programs in the clinical laboratory sciences by the ASCLS P.A.C.E.® program. Credit will be given for live broadcast sessions only. The level of instruction is Intermediate. Attendees may receive a number of P.A.C.E. credit hours to be determined.
For P.A.C.E. credit, a unique number code will be read at the end of each session. Participants can then enter the code into CE Organizer (https://ceorganizer.ascls.org/login) to take a survey and generate a P.A.C.E. certificate. (Note: ASCLS membership is not required to use CE Organizer.)
Continuing Medical Education (CME) Credit
Accreditation. This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of the University of Michigan Medical School and the Michigan Association of Blood Banks. The University of Michigan Medical School is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
Credit designation. The University of Michigan Medical School designates this live activity for a maximum number of 11.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Agenda
The sequence of presentations is tentative.
Wednesday, September 9th
Moderators: to be determined (TBD)
| 8:00 | Registration and Breakfast |
| 8:30 | Introduction & Welcome - Nada Naiyer, MD, MABB President |
| 8:35 | Preparing Your Lab for High Consequence Pathogen Testing - Michael Pentella, PhD, D(ABMM) |
| 9:30 | AABB/ICTMG Clinical Practice Guidelines for Platelet Transfusion - Ryan Metcalf, MD |
| 10:25 | Refreshments and Exhibits |
| 10:55 | Evolution of Gene Therapy for Sickle Cell Disease - Asif Alavi, MD |
| 11:50 | Lunch and Exhibits |
| 12:35 | MABB Business Meeting |
| 1:20 | 2026 Kay Beattie Lecture Sweet Fat: The Globo-family of Antigens - Laura Cooling, MD, MS |
| 2:15 | Cyberattacks - Is Your Lab Prepared? - Daniel Ortiz, PhD, D(ABMM) |
| 3:10 | Refreshments and Exhibits |
| 3:35 | Clinical Case Studies - Moderator: Rachel Brancamp, MD |
| TBD | |
| TBD | |
| TBD | |
| 4:35 | Adjournment |
Thursday, September 10th
Moderators: TBD
| 8:00 | Registration and Breakfast |
| 8:30 | Introduction & Welcome - Nada Naiyer, MD, MABB President |
| 8:35 | Improving Procedure Manuals - Suzanne H. Butch, MLS(ASCP)SBBCM,DLMCM |
| 9:30 | Group O Red Blood Cell Inventory Management - Barry Siegfried, MD |
| 10:25 | Refreshments and Exhibits |
| 10:55 | 2026 Kay Beattie Lecture Case Studies in Platelet Refractoriness: Pet Peeves and Pearls - Laura Cooling, MD, MS |
| 11:50 | Lunch and Exhibits |
| 12:35 | Legislating Blood Choice: Evaluating the Impact of State Mandates to Provide Patient Access to Unvaccinated Blood - Emily Coberly, MD |
| 1:30 | It’s Time to Talk: Communicating Science to the Public - Rachel Little Morris, PhD, MLT(ASCP)CM |
| 2:25 | Refreshments and Exhibits |
| 3:15 | Serological Case Studies - Moderators: Cristian Purdom, MLS(ASCP)CM & Annie Fuelle-Kulchycki, MLS(ASCP)CM |
| TBD | |
| TBD | |
| 4:15 | Closing remarks - Nada Naiyer, MD, MABB President |
| 4:20 | Adjournment |
Program Committee
Brigitte Becker, MT(ASCP)SBBCM, co-planner
Scheurer Health
Rachel Brancamp, MD, co-planner
Henry Ford Health
Salika Devine, MS, BB(ASCP)CM, co-planner
Henry Ford Health
Loretta Dickinson, MLS(ASCP)CM, co-planner
Henry Ford Health
Nada Naiyer, MD, co-planner and committee chair
Corewell Health
Cristey Pebley, MLS(ASCP), SBB(ASCP)CM
University of Michigan Health-Sparrow
Cristian Purdom, MLS(ASCP)CM
University of Michigan
Barry Siegfried, MD, co-planner
American Red Cross
Krystal Strockis, MPH, MLS(ASCP)CM , co-planner
University of Michigan Health-West
Jensyn Cone Sullivan, MD, continuing medical education planner
University of Michigan
Ronda Tuberville, BFA, co-planner
University of Michigan
Angela Wholehan, MS, MLS(ASCP)CMSBBCM, co-planner
Michigan State University
Faculty
Asif Alavi, MD
Director, Comprehensive Adult Sickle Cell Center, Hematology, Stem Cell Transplant and Cellular Therapy
Henry Ford Health
Suzanne H. Butch, MLS(ASCP)SBBCM,DLMCM
Retired from Michigan Medicine
Emily Coberly, MD
Divisional Chief Medical Officer
American Red Cross
Laura Cooling, MD, MS
Emerita Professor of Pathology
University of Michigan Department of Pathology
Annie Fuelle-Kulchycki, MLS(ASCP)CM
CAPA Investigation Professional, Versiti SBB Graduate Student
Versiti Blood Center (Michigan Branch)
Ryan Metcalf, MD
University of Utah and ARUP
Rachel Little Morris, PhD, MLT(ASCP)CM
Graduate Program Director, Biomedical Laboratory Diagnostics Program
Michigan State University
Daniel Ortiz, PhD, D(ABMM)
Technical Director of Microbiology
Labcorp Health Systems Operating Division
Michael Pentella, PhD, D(ABMM)
Clinical Professor and Laboratory Director
University of Iowa, State Hygienic Laboratory
Barry Siegfried, MD
Medical Director, Michigan Region
American Red Cross Biomedical Services
Election of MABB Officers for 2027
In accordance with the MABB bylaws, officers for 2027 will be elected during the business meeting. The Nominating Committee nominates the following candidates.
- President-Elect: Rachel Brancamp, MD
- Treasurer: Cristey Pebley, MLS(ASCP), SBB(ASCP)CM
- Secretary: Krystal Strockis, MPH, MLS(ASCP)CM
- Member-at-Large: Brian Novak, MLS(ASCP)CM
- Member-at-Large: Cristian Purdom, MLS(ASCP)CM
- Member-at-Large: Mitchell M Moosavi, MD