Editorial: Transfusion Alternatives in Transfusion Medicine 1999–2012

Abstract

Transfusion Alternatives in Transfusion Medicine (TATM) was launched in 1999 shortly after the Network for the Advancement of Transfusion Alternatives (NATA) was created by Professor Jean-Francois Baron (Paris, France), who served both as NATA chair and as TATM editor-inchief. At that time, clinicians and scientists had realized that the risks associated with the administration of blood components and blood-derived products were too high to be accepted by doctors and patients. Efforts were made to avoid allogeneic blood transfusions by establishing alternative methods such as preoperative autologous blood donation, normovolemic hemodilution and cell salvage autotransfusion. The annual symposia organized by NATA were a unique platform to present and discuss the various forms of alternatives to allogeneic blood transfusions in order to evaluate their potential benefits and risks. At each meeting, the actual state of artificial blood, more precisely fluorocarbons and hemoglobinbased solutions, was presented to a multidisciplinary audience. TATM was then published by LM Sante (now Med Ed Global Solutions), the agency also in charge of organizing NATA symposia. In 2002, when Professor Baron retired from his positions of NATA chair and TATM editor-in-chief, I was assigned by the NATA board of directors to take over both positions. At the end of my 3-year term, Professor Maniatis was elected as NATA chair and I was invited to continue as TATM editor-in-chief. At that time, the NATA board decided to look for a professional publisher for the journal and entrusted Wiley-Blackwell (Oxford, UK) with the publication of the journal. The publisher put high energy and efforts in relaunching TATM; however, the potential authors of articles dealing with transfusion medicine and alternatives remained reluctant to send their original papers to TATM as it was not indexed in the main medical databases, which in turn made it difficult to maintain a regular publication schedule, one of the key requirements for indexing. Although TATM was able to publish excellent review articles by leading experts on specific topics, as well as several outstanding themed issues coordinated by renowned guest editors, the board of directors finally came to the conclusion that the efforts required to maintain the journal may be more fruitfully dedicated to developing the NATA website (http://www.nataonline. com) and a continuing medical education e-learning program, while developing partnerships with indexed journals in the field of transfusion medicine. As editor-in-chief, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the NATA board of directors for entrusting me the official journal of NATA for the last decade. Today I would like to thank all the colleagues who submitted manuscripts to TATM, the associate editors, editorial board members, reviewers and guest editors who helped the journal stick to high quality standards, and the team at Wiley-Blackwell, particularly Sam Gough and Valerie Oliveiro who in recent years provided us with a highly professional support. The greatest support over the years, however, came from Francois Christory, who has served as Managing Editor of TATM since 2001. Without his help and enthusiasm for the goals of NATA and TATM, namely to reduce or avoid the risks associated with the administration of allogeneic blood and blood-derived products, TATM would not have served the medical community successfully for so many years. Transfusion Alternatives in Transfusion Medicine TATM