Medical priorities
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Medical Priorities and Sanquin's Research Agenda
Sanquin Blood Supply Foundation is a knowledge-driven not-for-profit organisation that supplies life-saving products, focusing on the needs of the care sector. Through scientific research, we look for and find new solutions for medical problems in the field of transfusion medicine, hematology and immunology. We are constantly aware of our responsibility to handle the donors’ gift carefully, responsibly and effectively, and to put the patients’ safety and welfare first.
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Anemia
The production of safe red cell transfusion units to alleviate anemia is a core activity of Sanquin. Transfusions are often lifesaving but they also carry risks for transfusion-related complications such as alloimmunization, iron accumulation, infection, or transfusion related lung injury, the extent of which may depend on the transfusion product, the nature of the anemia, and the condition of the patient.
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Bleeding & hemostasis
Hemostasis is maintained by the delicate triadic interplay between blood vessel wall, circulating platelets and coagulation factors. Defects in any of these components can result in extended and spontaneous bleeding and other poorly understood clinical manifestations. The mission of the Medical Priority Bleeding & Hemostasis is to improve preventive measures, diagnosis, and treatment of patients with congenital and/or acquired hemostatic disorders.
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Immunity & inflammation
The medical priority Immunity & Inflammation investigates immune responses to develop novel diagnostics, targeted therapies and personalized medicine and to prevent unwanted side effects from transfusion of blood cells or products.
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Immunotherapy
Over the past decades, the life expectancy of the Dutch population increased. With it, the incidence of cancer is also steadily increasing. Even though substantial improvements were achieved in the standard care of cancer patients, the mortality and morbidity for certain forms of cancer is still unchanged. Thus, there is a need for alternatives to the existing therapies. This includes the production of top-quality transfusion products, and the development of diagnostic tools for e.g. minimal residual diseases, and for medicinal dosing. Moreover, therapies need to be affordable to make them widely accessible to the patients.
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