Coming Home: Why I Attend the AABB Annual Meeting

The AABB Annual Meeting is an event that I look forward to returning each year, and it has quickly become one of the highlights of my professional calendar. Although my first official AABB Annual Meeting was only last year in San Diego, my journey with AABB, and with the transfusion medicine community, began long before I ever walked into the convention center.

My story in transfusion medicine began in 2014 when I accepted my very first position as a blood bank technologist in New York. Like many people entering the field, I was eager to learn, fascinated by immunohematology, and quickly realized that behind every blood product was a patient depending on us to get it right. I was fortunate to be surrounded by mentors who challenged me, emphasized quality and patient safety and sparked a passion for transfusion medicine that has only grown over the years. Looking back, I realize they weren't just teaching me blood banking, they were shaping the career I would eventually build.

As my journey continued, so did my goals. I pursued medicine while never losing sight of the laboratory that first inspired me. Every step, from working as a blood bank technologist, to medical school, to pathology residency, and now to training as a transfusion medicine fellow, has reinforced that our specialty is built on curiosity, collaboration and a commitment to lifelong learning.

Fostering Connections

Walking into my first AABB Annual Meeting in San Diego felt less like attending a conference and more like coming home.

Around every corner was someone who had been part of my journey in one way or another.

One of my very first reunions was with Richie B. Seeratan, who trained me during my first blood bank job back in 2014. Seeing Richie again instantly brought me back to where it all began, to the days when I was learning the fundamentals of blood banking and discovering a specialty that would ultimately become my calling.

I also reconnected with my Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center family, where I truly honed my craft as a blood banker. It was especially meaningful to catch up with my former blood bank manager, Sean Vickerie, and the transfusion medicine physicians who helped shape my early career, Drs. Borge and Budhai, along with the rest of the MSK transfusion medicine leadership team. Years earlier, I was learning from them at the bench, watching how they approached challenging cases, advocated for patients and led their teams. Seeing them again—and watching how their own careers had continued to evolve while they remained leaders and mentors in our field—was incredibly inspiring. It also reminded me just how much they had influenced my own journey. They weren't simply teaching me blood banking; they were helping shape the transfusion medicine physician I am becoming.

The reunions didn't stop there. I caught up with friends and colleagues from medical school who are now attendings, researchers and leaders in pathology and transfusion medicine. I smiled as I saw former MLS students I once taught who are now laboratory administrators, and blood collectors and technologists I once worked alongside leading educational sessions and sharing their expertise from the podium. Watching everyone's careers evolve reminded me that one of the greatest joys in our profession is growing together.

Full Circle Moments

Another highlight was reconnecting with Dr. Yembur Ahmad from Mass General Brigham. Although we had crossed paths at several professional meetings over the years, it wasn't until we were both named to the ASCP 40 Under Forty Class of 2025 that we really had the chance to get to know one another. Through those conversations, I discovered our shared passion for transfusion medicine, and what began as a professional connection quickly grew into a genuine friendship. We left San Diego looking forward to seeing each other again that November as we reunited to celebrate our recognition as members of the ASCP 40 Under Forty Class of 2025.

Our field may be small, but it is remarkably connected, and that sense of community is one of the many reasons I keep coming back to the AABB Annual Meeting.” 

Another full-circle moment was meeting my current transfusion medicine fellowship associate program director, Dr. Li Chai, in person. Long before I ever imagined that the Mass General Brigham/Harvard Medical School Transfusion Medicine Fellowship would become the place I would call home, Dr. Chai was simply a familiar name through our shared interests in transfusion medicine and the professional circles that make our specialty feel so connected. Looking back now, it's remarkable how often those early introductions become lifelong professional relationships that shape your career, and in my case fellowship training.

Those moments reminded me of why I love this specialty. In transfusion medicine, someone who begins as a name in an email, a familiar face at a meeting or a brief introduction at a conference often becomes a mentor, collaborator, colleague and often a lifelong friend. Our field may be small, but it is remarkably connected, and that sense of community is one of the many reasons I keep coming back to the AABB Annual Meeting.

Over the past year, that sense of community has only grown stronger.

Since San Diego, I've had the opportunity to present my own research, share my work on platelet utilization and waste reduction, and exchange ideas with colleagues from across the country. One of the highlights was reconnecting with colleagues I met again during my elective at Johns Hopkins. As we discussed our research, it became clear that although we were working at different institutions, we were asking many of the same questions and striving toward the similar goal: improving transfusion practice and patient care. Those conversations reminded me that some of the best collaborations begin with a simple conversation in a poster hall.

About the Author

Sophia B. Bellegarde, MD, MBA, MLS(ASCP), was an anatomic and clinical pathology resident at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center at the time of the 2025 AABB Annual Meeting. She will be returning to the AABB Annual Meeting this year as a transfusion medicine fellow in the Joint Fellowship Program for Transfusion Medicine at Mass General Brigham/ Harvard Medical School in Boston, Mass. An ASCP board-certified medical laboratory scientist and educator, she brings more than a decade of experience in transfusion medicine and laboratory science to her clinical training. Her work focused on improving transfusion safety and access for vulnerable populations. She is a 2026 AABB Social Media Champion.