I was born and raised around the London area and trained in Oldchurch Hospital in Romford in east London. I worked there as a staff nurse in the haematology / oncology department both on the inpatient ward and, after having my children, as a sister (Nurse Manager) on the outpatient chemotherapy unit. In 2007 my husband and I emigrated to the Mighty Waikato in the north island of New Zealand with our two children. During my time in Waikato Hospital I have worked on a haematology / oncology ward, in chemotherapy outpatients, have been involved in setting up an ECG guided, nurse led PICC service, worked part-time as an educator for the company making the ECG guidance system whilst also working as an educator for haematology / oncology for the Midland region. I then worked full time as the Midland region educator before finally moving to Patient Blood Management. In 2022 I became the coordinator of the PBM service. When not working I enjoy getting out and about with my husband on our motorbikes (as long as it’s not raining or too cold or too hot – I am a real fair weather biker!)

Penny is a Registered Nurse and NSW Blood Watch Program Lead. Penny has worked in blood management, patient safety and clinical governance since 2006, with a Master of Quality Services (Health and Safety). Penny's current role focuses on improving patient safety outcomes in transfusion and hospital accreditation.

Chris Akers works as a Transfusion Nurse at Blood Matters, a Victorian program supporting best practice in patient blood management and the stewardship of blood. Chris oversees the STIR haemovigilance program run via Blood Matters which includes both clinical and procedural events. Chris is also a Transfusion nurse at Alfred Health and so has insight into both sides of the haemovigilance system (STIR) used in Victoria.

I am a transfusion nurse specialist from New Zealand Blood Service. I am originally from Seoul, Korea and living and working in Auckland, NZ for the last 24 years. In my previous life, I was in renal nursing for 15 years. The highlight of my career in renal nursing is setting up a community dialysis centre in one of the busiest hospitals in Auckland where patients actively participate in their treatment. Now, I’m one of the six transfusion nurse specialists in NZ Blood Service covering the largest hospital in the country. As a transfusion nurse specialist for the last 6 years at Auckland Hospital, my focus has been transfusion safety and patient blood management. In my first year, I established a small group face to face teaching at Blood Bank aiming to change people’s behaviours particularly in pre-transfusion sample labelling practice. Although this is continuing, I learnt that having a robust system should be preceded that prevent people making errors. On a positive note, this has been recognised in a national level. Currently, NZ Blood Service and Te Whatu Ora (Health New Zealand) are working closely towards the system change. Outside work, I am a passionate golfer and live with two fur babies and a reasonable bloke. I would have been a professional golfer if I wasn’t a nurse.