Symposium 2022: First Annual Hybrid Symposium!
From May 19th to 22nd, The Coalition for Hemophilia B hosted its first–ever Hybrid Symposium. We were delighted to host over 500 in–person attendees from over 45 states, Puerto Rico and Europe at the Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld in Florida. Additionally, we were joined virtually by 300 participants from 40 states plus Puerto Rico, Canada, and Australia.
During the height of the pandemic, we shifted to virtual events for the safety of our families, speakers, and sponsors. This year we were thrilled to be able to return to an in–person event by employing a variety of safety measures for everyone’s protection. At the same time, we learned that many of our members still enjoyed the benefit of attending the event virtually, so we held sessions for them as well.
The Symposium featured a variety of amazing educational sessions led by experts in their fields. Many of these focused on advances in medical knowledge and treatment including How Much FIX is in your Blood with Dr. Robert Sidonio, and a panel on Emerging Therapies led by Brian O’Mahony of the World Federation of Hemophilia. Brian also shared his personal experience of being one of the first patients to receive gene therapy for hemophilia B.
Speakers who shared their personal stories were also an important part of the program. In Unburying My Father, Zander Masser took us on a moving journey of the life of his father, Randy, a photographer with hemophilia B.
A wide variety of sessions offered participants tools for living and improving quality of life. These included Navigating Finances with social worker Ellen Kachalsky, Work/Life: The Five Buckets Principle with Wendy Wollner, Create Immediate and Lasting Joy with Catherine Canadeo, and many others.
The speakers and sessions listed here represent just a fraction of the many offerings at the Symposium which held about 58 sessions for all ages and targeted sessions for specific groups including men, women, teens, parents, and others. Exhibit hours offered more opportunities for continued interaction and then we closed out the final night with dinner, comedy entertainment, and a special appearance from our all–time favorite band, “THE BLEEDERS,” who rocked the house!
We hosted 40 virtual sessions with 12 livestreamed and 28 that were virtual only, with speakers who went on Zoom, including activities and rap sessions. The virtual event ran from Thursday evening through late Sunday afternoon.
Thank you to all of our speakers, presenters, facilitators, and participants!
We are grateful to our many sponsors including CSL Behring, Medexus, and Pfizer (Platinum Level), Novo Nordisk and Sanofi (Gold Level), HEMA Biologics, Takeda and Tremeau (Silver Level), and others.
And thank you to our Virtual Sponsors!
