The WTD Patient Ambassador of the Year Award recognizes an outstanding, passionate member of the thrombosis advocacy community who is dedicated to building awareness about thrombosis in his or her community, region, country and/or globally.

After surviving multiple blood clots, award recipient Ann Marie O’Neill set out to build a network of support and resources for thrombosis patients in Ireland. She had a pulmonary embolism in 1995 after surgery, followed by another blood clot in 2000 and later a blood clot in her femoral artery.

“I was beginning to think I might have a problem, but nobody sat down and explained exactly what was happening, that it may happen again or how I could protect myself going forward,” Ann Marie said.

Ann Marie realized Ireland was in need of a national thrombosis and awareness support group of its own to help patients and survivors just like herself.  In 2016, she founded Thrombosis Ireland, a not-for-profit organization focused on promoting thrombosis awareness among patients, healthcare professionals and the public.

O’Neill has organized countless awareness events and activities across Ireland, including a national roll-out of blood clot patient alert cards, an annual educational and patient support conference, the prestigious VTE Exemplar Awards and a “Stop the Clot Roadshow” with educational activities at hospitals across Ireland. The organization is known as a leader in thrombosis awareness and prevention across Ireland.

“I want everyone to know that blood clots can affect anyone, male or female, young or old, fit and healthy and they can be fatal if we don’t know what to look out for. A little knowledge can save your life,” Ann Marie shared.

The WTD 2023 Activity of the Year Awards recognize WTD partner groups or organizations that have shown outstanding effort in raising awareness of thrombosis on a local, regional or global level by organizing an engaging and successful event and/or activity in recognition of WTD.

Winners exemplify a passion and willingness to build awareness about thrombosis in the organization’s community, region, country, and/or globally. They also demonstrate a willingness to achieve the mission of the WTD campaign by seeking to increase global awareness of thrombosis.

WTD 2023 Activity of the Year Award (High-Income Country):

Anticoagulation Forum 

Anticoagulation Forum is the winner of this prestigious award in recognition of its multifaceted advocacy activities across the United States. As a longtime WTD campaign partner, the Anticoagulation Forum’s thrombosis awareness activities in 2022 included a successful webinar series with 11 sessions, Boot Camps and updated thrombosis guidance and educational materials.

Established more than 30 years ago, the Anticoagulation Forum is the largest organization of its kind helping practitioners improve patient care by providing current and relevant information on best practices. Its membership includes more than 13,000 physicians, nurses, and pharmacists representing over 3,000 anticoagulation services (clinics). Its members directly support over 1 million patients annually.

“This prestigious award not only acknowledges our efforts but, more importantly, it shines a spotlight on the importance of thrombosis awareness, prevention and optimized management,” said Anticoagulation Forum President Allison Burnett. “The Anticoagulation Forum extends its thanks to the incredible individuals who support our organizational mission and share our vision for widespread stewardship over essential antithrombotic therapies. Let us continue to work together to make a positive impact and inspire others to get involved.”

WTD 2023 Activity of the Year Award (Reach-the-World Country):

MedExpert Ukraine

MedExpert, a WTD partner based in Ukraine, receives this award for its outstanding thrombosis awareness activities. MedExpert hosted an online educational conference focused on thrombosis topics for healthcare professionals. Amid uncertain times in Ukraine, MedExpert faced new challenges in order to host its sixth annual scientific conference. The conference ended up being streamed from a bomb shelter with minimal energy sources. Despite this, the event was a success with more than 10,000 online participants, primarily healthcare professionals.

“The MedExpert group of companies is sincerely grateful for the recognition of our work on the development of thromboprophylaxis in Ukraine,” said MedExpert CEO Dana Baktiarova. “We have been supporting the WTD movement for six years in a row. Even the war in the country did not stop our efforts. We continue to create quality educational content for Ukrainian doctors and are sincerely grateful for the support of our colleagues from all over the world.”

Honorable Mention Recognition

WTD recognizes the National VTE Prevention Program of China as an honorable mention awardee for the 2023 Activity of the Year in the Reach-the-World category. The partner organization hosted a national scientific conference on the topic of thrombosis prevention and management, as well as collaborated with 1,200 hospitals in China to participate in the National VTE Prevention Program.