You're Invited to be a Part of History

Join us in New Orleans for the FIRST wAIHA Warriors Annual Meeting next March. Patients, caregivers, physicians and researchers will gather in New Orleans to discuss current and future treatments, access to care, Federal and State advocacy efforts and more. Most importantly, the Annual Meeting will allow patients to network and share their stories with other members of the community.

1. Connect with other patients, caregivers, and health care providers
2. Learn about current and future clinical trials and treatments
3. Hear from lawmakers and U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services leaders 
4. FREE registration for patients, caregivers, and health care providers
5. Travel stipends and complimentary accomodations available for qualified patients and caregivers

We'll be joined by internationally-recognized researchers, officials from the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, and lawmakers who are championing the patient community in Congress. Speakers will address topics related to wAIHA, mixed AIHA and Cold Agglutinin Disease (CAD). 

Schedule subject to change:

Friday, March 24, 2023

1:00pm – 5:00pm:  Exhibitor Check-in/Set Up

3:00pm – 5:00pm:  Patient Registration

5:00pm – 6:00pm:  Reception with the Exhibitors

6:00pm – 8:00pm:  Welcome Reception, Karen Jones, Ed.D, Executive Director  

Saturday, March 25, 2023 (AIHA Awareness Day)

7:30am – 9:00am:   Breakfast with the Exhibitors

9:00am – 9:15am:   Welcome to the First wAIHA Warriors Patient Meeting and the First

AIHA Awareness Day – Karen Jones, Ed.D, Executive Director

9:15am – 10:00am:   Humble Beginnings – Dr. Irina Murakhovskaya, wAIHA Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia, and Pat Watson, Cold Agglutinin Disease

10:00am – 10:15am:   Break with Exhibitors

10:15am – 10:30am:  Keynote Address – Rare Disease Legislative Update and Opportunities for Rare Disease Legislative Action with Congressional Leaders, Joni L. Rutter, Ph.D.Director of the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health (Invited)

10:30am – 11:00am:  Mental Health Resources for Rare Disease Patients, Dr. Stacey Feuer, PsyD, MLD 

11:00am – 11:45am:  How AIHA Changes Lives - Patient Advisory Board and Guests 

11:45am – 12:00pm:  The Importance of an AIHA Patient Registry: What Is It and Why Is It Important?                  

12:00pm – 1:00pm:  Box lunch in the Exhibit Hall

1pm – 1:30pm:   Dr. Panepinto, Director of the Division of Blood Diseases and Resources (DBDR) at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health (Invited)       

1:30pm – 2:00pm:  Patient Assistance Programs for wAIHA 

2:00pm – 2:30pm:  Washington, DC Update, James Romano, Care & Cure Partners 

2:30pm – 3:00pm:  Break with Exhibitors

3:00pm – 4:00pm:  Update on Current wAIHA Clinical Trials, Dr. Irina Murakhovskaya

4:00pm – 4:45pm:  Closing – Karen Jones, Ed.D, Executive Director    

4:45pm – 5:00pm:  Break with Exhibitors

5:00pm – 7:00pm:  Dinner

7:00pm: Evening Event

Sunday, March 26, 2023

8am – 8:30am:  Breakfast Opening—Karen Jones, Ed.D, Executive Director, Speaker— Dr. Irina Murakhovskaya, wAIHA Treatment Comparisons

8:30am – 9:00am:  Vitamins, Supplements and Alternative Medicine for wAIHA and wAIHA Treatment Symptoms

9:00am – 9:30am:  Insurance 101 – Sean Powell and James Romano

9:30 – 10:00 am:   Conference Closing – New wAIHA Warriors 2023 Programs 

10:15AM-11:45AM:  Medical Advisory Board and Patient Advisory Board Meeting

Renaissance New Orleans Pere Marquette French Quarter 

817 Common St.

New Orleans, LA 70112

Our host hotel is located in the heart of the city and near restaurants, entertainment and visitor destinations. The wAIHA Warriors Annual Meeting won't be all work and no play – on Saturday night following the general sessions and breakouts, we'll explore this unique city

Registration is FREE for patients, caregivers, researchers and physicians. wAIHA Warriors is also offering a limited number of complimentary accommodations at the host hotel and round-trip travel stipends for patients and caregivers up to $600 for domestic travel and $800 for international travel. Recipients of the travel stipend must be:

• A member of the wAIHA Warriors private Facebook group and/or wAIHA Warriors newsletter mailing list;
• Complete the Annual Meeting registration and attend all Annual Meeting events; and
• Present their receipt(s) for reimbursement following the Annual Meeting.

Registration is now closed. For more information, contact Karen Jones, karen@wAIHAWarriors.org.

Exhibitors will be provided one (1) 6ft X 30in table in the exhibitor space for booth setup. Exhibitors should make their own hotel reservations; mention "wAIHA Warriors" to secure the conference room rate. Load-in at the host hotel will be on Friday afternoon, March 24. 

For more information, contact Elizabeth Antjas, elizabeth@wAIHAWarriors.org.