Do you think the Cooley’s Anemia Symposia play an important role in the thalassemia community?
I think I’m the only person at this Symposium who has attended every one since 1963. I was just looking at the first Symposium before I came here. That was an extraordinary meeting because it brought together basic scientists who knew nothing about patients with people who were just starting to look at thalassemia. It was the first meeting in the world where the first methods for transfusing thalassemic children were properly discussed and where the underlying cause of the disease, which was just starting to become apparent, was discussed. Starting then and continuing on, I think the CAF-NYAS meetings have been a major force in the development of the thalassemia field. I think CAF has been critically important in the development and understanding of thalassemia because it brings together not just the medical fraternity but patients and families, and includes major input and interaction between them. It’s the only real connection between patients and families and the medical profession