47th Annual Meeting and Exposition
December 10-13, 2005

Georgia World Congress Center
Atlanta, Georgia

Registration Information

MEETING LOCATION
The 2005 ASH Annual Meeting has been rescheduled for December 10-13 in Atlanta, Georgia, as a result of the devastating damage caused by Hurricane Katrina. Please note that this is one week later than the original meeting dates. If you have already registered for the annual meeting, please be sure to read our Frequently Asked Questions. ASH’s registration, annual meeting sessions, and exhibits will be held in the Georgia World Congress Center, located in the heart of downtown Atlanta.

REGISTRATION

On-Site Registration will be held in the Registration Hall at the International Boulevard Entrance of the Georgia World Congress Center during the hours listed below. If you registered in advance and received your badge in the mail, please proceed directly to the “Program Distribution” counter, located in the Registration Hall, to pick up your badge holder and meeting materials. If you registered in advance but did not receive your badge in the mail, please proceed to the “Advance Registration” counters, also located in the Registration Hall. If you need to register for the meeting on site, first complete a registration form, and then proceed to the “On-Site Registration” counter.

Please note that because the advance registration deadline has now passed, mailed or faxed registration forms received after November 9 will be charged on-site registration fees.

Registration Hours

To avoid long lines at the on-site registration counters, ASH encourages you to register for the meeting in advance.

REGISTRATION CATEGORIES
Applications for Active or International membership received between now and the meeting will not be processed in time for applicants to receive status as an ASH member at the 2005 annual meeting. Please consider becoming a member in time for the 2006 annual meeting.

ASH Members (Active and International)
Any person with a doctoral degree, or its equivalent, who is a permanent resident of a North American country (Canada, United States, or Mexico), and who has manifested a continuous interest in a discipline important to hematology as evidenced by work in the field, original contributions, and attendance at meetings concerning hematology, is eligible for Active membership. Individuals who have made a contribution to the field of hematology and who do not reside in a North American country may be elected to International membership.

ASH Associate Members
Post-doctoral fellows who reside in Canada, Mexico, or the United States and are in approved hematology or oncology training programs are eligible for Associate membership. The Associate membership concludes after the completion of the fellowship (maximum of four years). Subsequently, the Associate membership is automatically converted to the Society’s Active member status. Associate membership applications are reviewed on a continuous basis; shortly after a complete application is received, notification of the membership decision will be sent to the applicant.

Non-Members in Training
ADVANCE REGISTRATION ONLY!

The $150 non-member in training fee will be honored only for those who register in advance; the deadline to do so is November 9. Any resident, post-doctoral fellow (MD or PhD) in a recognized hematology training program, or medical/graduate student may register as a non-member in training by following these steps:

• Complete the Non-Member in Training Registration Form.
• Provide an original letter on the institution’s letterhead and signed by a training program director stating that the individual is a trainee.
• Indicate the name of the program that the individual is enrolled in, the length (in years) of the training program, and when the trainee will complete the training program.
• The letter must also include the school stamp. The original letter, advance registration form, and the $150 non-member in training fee must be mailed to:

American Society of Hematology
Attn: Meetings Department/Non-Members in Training
1900 M Street, NW, Suite 200
Washington, DC 20036

Fax copies will not be accepted.

Please note that these materials must be received by the ASH Meetings Department by November 9 in order to be processed at the non-member in training rate for the 2005 ASH Annual Meeting. Non-members in training who register after November 9 and on site will be charged the ASH non-member fee of $615.

Individuals will be registered for the meeting once ASH confirms the training status. Confirmation letters will be sent within two weeks (three weeks for international registrants) of receipt.

Allied Health Professionals
Individuals qualified for this category include: medical technicians, nurses, physician assistants, and pharmacists. To register for this category, an individual will need to provide evidence of status as an allied health professional. This could be evidence of membership in another association, such as a nursing association, provision of an institutional identification card with the registrant’s name and professional title, or an original letter on department letterhead written by the director stating the registrant’s status as an allied health professional. Individuals with an MD or PhD degree generally will not qualify for this category.

Allied health professionals may register for the meeting online; however, they must pick up their name badges on site and must provide proof of status as an allied health professional at the special allied health professional counter that will be located in the Registration Hall in the Georgia World Congress Center. Registrants who do not have a proper identification on site will be charged the non-member registration fee.

Spouses/Guests
Spouses and guests are welcome to register for the ASH annual meeting. Spouses and guests will receive a badge that will entitle them entrance to the exhibit hall and all ASH-sponsored social events. This registration rate does not include entrance to the education and scientific sessions, and registrants will not receive the Program and Abstracts Book or the Education Program Book.

Honorary/Emeritus
The ASH Executive Committee names Honorary members. Emeritus members must be at least 65 years old or retired from practice. The ASH Executive Committee must approve requests for Emeritus member status.

REGISTRATION FEES
Registration fees can be paid by credit card or by check.

* Registration forms received after November 9, 2005 will be charged on-site registration fees. On-site registration will begin on Thursday, December 8 at 12:00 noon in the convention center.

What is included in the registration fee?

• One copy of the two-volume Program and Abstracts Book**
• Hematology 2005 (Education Program Book)**
• Annual Meeting Abstracts on CD-ROM **
• On-Site Program Book**
• Annual Meeting Notebook (Education/Scientific Session Summaries)**
• Admission to the Special Lectures, Special Interest Sessions, and Education, Scientific, Oral, and Poster Sessions**
• Admission to the exhibit hall
• Receptions in the exhibit hall and poster hall
• Daily coffee breaks

** Not applicable to spouse/guest registrants.

Cancellation Policy
Registration cancellations must be submitted to the ASH Registration Center in writing by November 28 to receive a refund. (Due to the Hurricane Katrina situation, ASH will waive the $25 processing fee.) There will be no refunds granted after November 28.

Registration Badges
Badges will be mailed to online early-bird and advance registrants beginning November 14. If you do not receive your badge by the last week of November, please contact the ASH Registration Center at 703-449-6418 or via e-mail at ashregistration@jspargo.com.

Meeting Materials
The Program and Abstracts Book will be mailed to all online early-bird and advance registrants in mid-November.

Please bring your Program and Abstracts Book to the annual meeting. Additional copies of the Program and Abstracts Book will be available for purchase on site at a cost of $60 for ASH members and $65 for non-members.

GROUP REGISTRATION
If planning to register a group of 15 or more attendees, please contact the ASH Registration Center at ashregistration@jspargo.com.

SHUTTLE SERVICE
Complimentary shuttle service will be provided between participating hotels and the convention center. Shuttle buses will run approximately every 10-20 minutes starting at 12:00 noon on Thursday, December 8, and continuing each morning beginning at 6:00 a.m. (except Saturday and Sunday mornings starting at 5:45 a.m.) through Tuesday, December 13, at 2:30 p.m. Each evening, shuttle buses will run until 9:30 p.m. Look for shuttle bus schedules in your hotel lobby.

REGISTRATION QUESTIONS?
Contact the ASH Registration Center:

Phone:
888-273-5704 – US and Canada (toll free)
703-449-6418 – International

E-mail: ashregistration@jspargo.com

Agents are available to help you from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm (Eastern Time), Monday through Friday. Please note that the ASH Registration Center will be closed on weekends and holidays (prior to the meeting).