ISTH World Thrombosis Day campaign names global advocacy award winners from China, Kenya and United Kingdom

Global award program honors individuals and organizations dedicated to improving blood clot awareness

CHARLOTTE, N.C., United States, October 8, 2025 — The International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH) today announced the 2025 recipients of its global thrombosis advocacy awards for the World Thrombosis Day (WTD) campaign. The annual awards program honors individuals and organizations from around the world who are making a difference in blood clot awareness.

The WTD 2025 advocacy award winners are as follows:

• Patient Ambassador of the Year: Margaret Mithanga (Kenya)

• Activity of the Year (High-Income Country category): Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust (United Kingdom)
• Activity of the Year (Low or Middle-Income Country category): National VTE Prevention Program (China)

2025 Patient Ambassador of the Year Winner

Margaret Mithanga is named the WTD 2025 Patient Ambassador of the Year, which recognizes an outstanding member of the thrombosis advocacy community. A three-time blood clot survivor, Mithanga seeks to advocate for patients and survivors throughout Africa.

Mithanga focuses on thrombosis awareness through community outreach, including speaking at local schools, churches, children’s homes and maternity wards. Mithanga published a book featuring stories from other blood clot survivors in Kenya to spotlight thrombosis as a critical health issue.

“Creating awareness about thrombosis is very important. Many people suffer in silence. Some are misdiagnosed because of lack of knowledge,” Mithanga said. “Here in Africa, our communities don’t even know what thrombosis is. That’s why I try to create awareness about it and educate people in my community.”

2025 Activity of the Year Winners

The campaign recognizes Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust as the WTD 2025 Activity of the Year Award in the High-Income Country category. The organization includes the locations of Aylesbury, Amersham, High Wycombe and Buckingham NHS hospitals in the United Kingdom.

The hospital system collaborated across locations to provide Venous Thromboembolism (VTE) Going Home Bags for all in-patient stays upon discharge, including day surgery, ambulatory lower limb immobilization and patients recently diagnosed with VTE.

The bright red bags contain printed information about blood clots that was reviewed and supported through feedback from nurses, pharmacy representatives and patients, as well as the national charity Thrombosis UK. Through a systematic roll-out that included staff training, more than 100,000 bags were passed out across 50+ hospital wards in 2024.

“I am thrilled that our VTE Going Home Bags have been recognized with such a prestigious award,” said Mariana de Mascarenhas, VTE prevention lead nurse at Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust. “The VTE Going Home Bag was provided to patients upon discharge, with the aim of increasing awareness about hospital-acquired VTE. Patient feedback indicated that the bag helped them make healthier choices and share information with others, while staff found it very helpful as a patient teaching tool.”

The campaign also recognizes the National VTE Prevention Program of China as the winner of the 2025 Activity of the Year Award in the Low-or-Middle Income Country category, which is determined by the World Bank classification.

The National VTE Prevention Program of China hosted a successful scientific and educational conference in 2024 with participation from more than 1,600 medical institutions in China. The conference offered education on VTE comorbidities, prevention and management. With more than 70 distinguished expert speakers, the conference garnered more than 900 on-site participants, with an additional 26,000+ attendees joining via live stream.

“We are deeply honored to receive this recognition from the ISTH World Thrombosis Day campaign,” said Zhenguo Zhai, director, National VTE Prevention Program Executive Office. “This award reflects the collective efforts of hundreds of hospitals and medical professionals across China who have worked tirelessly to advance VTE prevention, benefiting millions of individuals through education, certification, and collaborative research. We are proud to contribute to the global fight against thrombosis.”

All award winners were selected following a rigorous review. The final award recipients were selected by committee members with no affiliation to the candidates.

To learn more about World Thrombosis Day, visit www.worldthrombosisday.org.

###

About the ISTH

Founded in 1969, the ISTH is the leading international medical and scientific professional organization dedicated to advancing the understanding, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of conditions related to thrombosis and hemostasis. The ISTH professional membership community includes more than 7,000 clinicians, researchers and educators from more than 120 countries working together to advance science and improve clinical care around the world. Among its highly-regarded activities and initiatives are education and standardization programs, research activities, meetings and congresses, clinical and laboratory practice guidance and guidelines, peer-reviewed publications, expert committees and World Thrombosis Day on 13 October. Learn more at www.isth.org.

Media Contact:

Barbara Krolak

ISTH Marketing Manager

Barbara_Krolak@isth.org