WELCOME MESSAGE

Dear friends and colleagues,

We are delighted to invite you to join us in Vancouver, Canada, for the 7^th International Chronic Graft-versus-Host Disease Symposium, October 16-17, 2024, at the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre. This is the first instance of this international meeting being held in North America, after being hosted exclusively in Zagreb, Croatia since the first symposium in 2013.  The meeting is hosted this year by Cell Therapy Transplant Canada (CTTC; www.cttcanada.org) with support from KroHem, the Croatian Cooperative Group for Hematologic Diseases (www.krohem.hr), as a partner organization.

Chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGvHD) is the most frequent late complication after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (alloHCT) and can last for many years causing severe medical, social and quality of life issues. However, more than ever before, the tools are at hand to address cGvHD issues and improve outcomes for alloHCT patients. Such progress in a relatively rare and complex disease can be achieved only by assertive interdisciplinary and multicentre international collaboration.

This 7^th International cGvHD Symposium in Vancouver brings together a critical mass of colleagues dedicated to the field of cGvHD from Canada, the United States, Europe, South America, Asia, and other regions. The goal of the meeting is to disseminate the most current knowledge regarding cGvHD, and to provide a venue for networking and establishing context for future collaborations in addressing cGvHD. This event is dedicated to the physicians, scientists, and patients/caregivers who are engaged in management, research, and advancing the care of allogeneic HCT patients.

The next International cGvHD Symposium will be organized again in Croatia with plans to continue alternating between North America and Europe, as a leading international event for cGvHD research and clinical practice. Whether this is your first cGvHD Symposium or you are a regular attendee, we are looking forward to welcoming you in Vancouver!

Warm regards from the Organizing Committee,