History of the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis:
40 Years of Service to the International Research Community.
The International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH) was founded in 1969, through the efforts of the members of the International Committee on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ICTH). The members of the ICTH felt the need for a larger organization to encourage research and education across the many medical and biomedical disciplines concerned with diseases and disorders of thrombosis and abnormal hemostasis. Whereas the ICTH had focused primarily on blood coagulation and hemorrhagic disorders, the new society would expand focus to include the emerging areas of platelet function and regulation, mechanisms of thrombosis, fibrinolysis and thrombolysis and the urgent problems of thromboembolic disorders.
Dr. Fritz Koller of Switzerland was the first president of the Society and Dr. Sol Sherry was the first Chairman of the board, the ISTH’s Council. In that inaugural year, 195 members joined in the Society and of these, 43 are still currently active in ISTH, forty years later.
Today, ISTH is an international individual membership organization with over 3,000 members around the world. Its mission remains the advancement of education and stimulation of research into thrombosis and hemostasis through meetings, peer-reviewed publications and expert committees on practical issues related to research methods and standards. The ISTH with the Committee, now the Scientific and Standardization Committee of ISTH, provide expert consultation to national and international regulatory agencies and health organizations.
Members of the society volunteer their services in support of the Society’s mission by producing one of the leading medical research journals in the area, Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis; by organizing medical meetings that share the best in current research; by extending their expertise to researchers and clinicians in developing areas of the world; and by working on practical issues of research methods, standards and nomenclature in newly evolving areas.