This presentation will address some of the early historical aspects of the study of platelet immunology and then focus on the current understanding of the immune mechanisms relating to platelet autoimmunity and alloimmunity. It will focus on the innate and adaptive cellular immune interactions that are critical to the development of platelet antibodies. In particular, the session will address antigen processing, presentation of platelet antigens to T cells, and how T cells and NK cells control the antiplatelet humoral response. It will also introduce some new concepts related to how platelets themselves may be immunomodulatory and control their own immunological fate.

This award honors Tibor Greenwalt, MD, who was the first registrant at the first AABB Annual Meeting and founding editor of TRANSFUSION. The award recognizes an individual who made major scientific or clinical contributions to hematology and transfusion medicine and succinctly communicated these advances.