"A very warm welcome from the president’s desk at the fag end of 2025 hoping that the next year will bring you happiness and prosperity."

Indian Society of Haematology and Blood Transfusion has now completed more than fifty years of its challenging journey as the sole national scientific society in haematology. It is a society with a difference inculcating both benign and malignant haematology-adult and paediatric from both the laboratory and clinical aspects as well as Transfusion medicine. It is a unique society having clinicians and pathologists who have adequate expertise/training in haematology working for a common cause and speaking the same language for the betterment of diagnosis and management of patients.

The annual meeting of the society provides a platform for all such professionals to come together and discuss recent advances in diagnosis and management of haematological disorders. The past twenty - five years has witnessed tremendous advancement in the training and fellowship programmes including DM Clinical Haematology/Hematopathology as well as DrNB Doctorate programmes of NBE in Haematology. This has increased the specialist cadre in haematology and improved the prospects of this subject nationally catering to the professional needs of patients with haematological diseases. However, we need more of such specialist in our country and for this robust awareness programmes are the need of the hour. A strategic plan must be developed so that more and more CMEs and community programmes are implemented in the lesser-known states and cities of our country. This is the only realistic way to increase awareness in the country on all aspects of haematological disorders.

Research in haematology has to be taken more seriously now. Collaborative projects with scientific institutes of excellence are the need of the hour. We must have MOUs with top institutes like IITs, NCCS(Pune), DIPAS(Delhi), IIS(Bangalore) in the fields of nanotechnology, cell sciences and molecular biology, proteomics and Artificial intelligence. Many of our young DMs and Fellows must be encouraged to collaborate with scientists in such institutes for the same. I request the executive body to look at this aspect and develop a MOU with such institutes where our young specialist can train in various technologies and not go abroad when most advanced facilities exist in our country. Liaison with Health ministry officials of centre and state can also be addressed to implement community research programmes like the one already being done for sickle cell anaemia programme.

Bone marrow transplant programmes should no longer be considered the sole propriety of top corporate hospitals and COEs. A strategy to implement such programmes in govt hospitals and in resource limited settings must be addressed. ISHBT can form a committee to look into this aspect.

A strong committee must be formed to implement DM Hematopathology in NEET-SS exams so that appointments of Hematopathologist can be created in depts. of Pathology in various medical colleges. I request the Executive body to once again re-look at this important aspect since oncopathology is now included in NEET-SS so why not Hematopathology. This will help many Pathologist with DM Hematopathology to earn their recognition which they richly deserve.

We must also go all out to increase the number of life members of our society to at least 5000 in the next two years. This is a realistic target and all of us must share this responsibility. We all must encourage our colleagues in medical colleges and hospitals to become members of ISHBT; Incidentally the fees for life member of our society are probably the lowest for any professional body in India

I am delighted to see the energetic secretary and executive body of ISHBT managing the society so well. Professional management and a permanent dedicated address of our society have all been achieved through their hard work and I congratulate them for the same. I take this opportunity to thank all the respected members of our society for giving me the privilege to be Executive body member in the past and now the President of ISHBT this year. I assure you of my hard work and dedication that will bring laurels to the society. Long live ISHBT. Jai Hind