In November 2020, the Foundation held the first Virtual National Type 3/Severe VWD Patient Conference consisting of 83 sessions over four days.

The goal was to keep our Members connected to each other for support and understanding while also keeping them connected to expert medical advice through interaction with our over 40 Faculty Members during the global pandemic.

A thoughtfully developed curriculum was presented in multiple formats:

Full General Sessions – (ZOOM WEBINAR) Medical Providers presented to all attendees critical information regarding the disease, utilizing PowerPoints.  Presentations, due to the complex nature of the information, were limited to ½ hour per presenter and immediately followed by at least ¼ hour audience Q&A and discussion.

Breakout Sessions – (ZOOM MEETING) small, intimate discussion groups with at least two Faculty Members and one Staff present.  These sessions are to help attendees digest the Full General Session information in a more individual setting with our Faculty.  We aim to help them answer the question “How does this apply to my life?” during this time with our experts. We limited these sessions to 12 attendees plus faculty/staff.

Social Events – (ZOOM WEBINAR and ZOOM MEETINGS) Various activities were held to encourage relaxed patient to patient time to foster new friendships and support.  These activities included trivia, arts and crafts, cooking class, and more!

Youth Programs – (ZOOM MEETINGS) Teen Group (ages 12-19) and children’s groups (ages 3-12) with age-appropriate social activities and educational material were held.

A big thank you to our Gold Sponsor, CSL Behring and our Silver Sponsor, Grifols.