Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Cellular Therapies Members

The Biotherapies landing page serves as the primary starting point for the biotherapies CT professional.

The CT Sectionis made up of members from a variety of disciplines encompassing cellular therapies. Individual members have the opportunity to enroll in interest-specific subsections. CT subsections help to provide information, education, and resources to the membership on issues related to cellular therapies (including, regenerative medicine, umbilical cord blood and somatic cells).

The CTSCC is an elected group of CT Section members who oversees the CT Section activities as well as communicates to the AABB Board through its Chair. It is composed of 16 members, including three officers (Chair, Vice Chair and Secretary), with years of CT experience and expertise. The CTSCC is elected by the CT Section membership and its members serve terms listed in the CT Section guidelines. Several CTSCC members were elected as a result of their participation in the CT subsections. Members who have an interest in guiding the direction of CT Section activities are encouraged to become a part of the CTSCC by submitting their names as candidates for election when announcements are made each year prior to the AABB Annual Meeting.

To join the CT Section one must be an AABB individual member and enroll in a CT subsection(s). Currently, there are five subsections focused on different interest-specific areas. Members may join any and as many CT subsections as. There is no charge to join the subsections. Your name will be placed only on the list for the specific subsection for which you enrolled. You will then be included in the email invitations to participate in the subsections and receive all of the subsection-related materials provided you are a member of that subsection and have updated your email address and membership information. If you have questions about enrolling in a subsection, please contact  membership@aabb.org.

The CT subsections discuss CT issues and challenges, as well as develop resources or ‘projects’ such as SOPs, Things to Consider’, Quality Operations plans, management tools/templates, surveys, and articles useful to CT professionals. Journal clubs and invited presenters have also been featured. Subsection projects that may serve as good resources to other members are posted on the CT projects webpages under each subsection topic name. The materials are a benefit of membership so specific content is only accessible to members who have a valid username and password.

Members who have an interest in cellular therapies and who come from all areas of CT, including researchers, physicians, nurses, medical technicians, business managers in CT, as well as individuals with transfusion backgrounds interested in transitioning to or participating in CT join the CT subsections. Members come from more than 20 countries and international participation is highly encouraged.

The CT subsections meet monthly (or as indicated) via a teleconference-webinar format. Members call into a conference line. The phone calls are led by subsection leaders, who are also members of the CTSCC, and associate leaders, who may or may not be members of the CTSCC. If members are unable to make the calls, participation is encouraged by joining smaller work groups within a subsection and communicating electronically. Subsection members have the opportunity to meet 'face-to-face' at the AABB Annual Meeting at specially arranged venues. 

Yes. Once an individual AABB member has enrolled in a CT subsection, their name is stored in an AABB database for that particular subsection. Each month ~ 1 week before a scheduled meeting time, a personalized reminder email will be sent from AABB to subsection members that contains call-in information (i.e., phone number and passcode) and any materials (e.g., meeting agendas, project drafts, and supporting documents) for discussion on the call. In addition, an invitation to register for a 'Webinar' will be included. AABB uses a webinar service so that subsection members can view materials via computer during the discussion. Members need only register once for webinars by clicking directly on the subsection-specific registration link provided or pasting the link to the browser. There is an option to schedule webinars in an Outlook calendar. Other calendars may not be supported. Webinar registrants will receive an automated email reminder from the AABB 'Biotherapies Department' containing a unique link to join the subsection call on its scheduled date.

No. If a member changes their email address it will be necessary to re-register for all of the webinars to which they belong to be able to view the materials via computer. As the webinar service is a separate system, any name or address changes must be done by the registered webinar user. However, if a member's email address has been updated in the member area of the AABB website, members should still continue to receive the  email reminders explained above concerning CT subsection meeting reminders. 

Yes. AABB offers a variety of publications through its marketplace with CT titles including the recent editions of its Standards for Cellular Therapy Services.

Yes. Articles related to various areas appear in each issue of Transfusion. Consider submitting your manuscript to Transfusion.

Yes. AABB offers a variety of programs that are listed on its website.

Yes. CellSource is AABB's newsletter for information on biotherapies events, upcoming calendar items, subsection activities as well as regular features including a dedicated section highlighting publications that may be of interest to biotherapies professionals. CellSource is posted on LinkedIn and members and non-members alike can subscribe.

Information on biotherapies activities and links to other information can be found on the AABB Biotherapies webpage. In addition, biotherapies items (e.g., FDA items, subsection activities, relevant web postings) appear in the AABB Weekly Report electronic newsletter. 

Contact us at biotherapies@aabb.org. We are always delighted to share information and welcome members.