ASH Annual Meeting Policies

ASH is committed to providing a welcoming meeting environment for all attendees. This Code of Conduct applies to all in-person and virtual participants, including members, volunteers, guests, exhibitors, vendors, staff, and any other attendees.

All attendees will conduct themselves in a collegial and respectful manner, free from any form of discrimination, harassment, or retaliation. Attendees will commit to creating a safe, inclusive, and professional atmosphere. Inappropriate conduct, including but not limited to harassment; threatening physical or verbal actions; or disorderly or disruptive conduct, will not be tolerated.

If you or anyone you know is being treated inappropriately, feels unsafe, and/or witnesses any unacceptable behavior, please contact [email protected] as soon as possible. ASH will do its best to respond in a timely manner and determine the appropriate next steps.

Registered participants may change their registration selection between the in-person or virtual meeting at any time without penalties or change fees.

Participants may request to cancel their registration and receive a refund as long as the request is received online on or before Wednesday, November 6, 2024. No refunds will be granted after this date. Note that all cancellations will include a $75 cancellation fee.

If you have extenuating circumstances that prevent you from attending, you are welcome to petition for an exception to this policy. To do so, please email the ASH Registration Center at [email protected] to explain your situation and include any documentation to support your case (documentation is optional but recommended). These petitions must be submitted by Monday, December 23, 2024, to be considered. The decision regarding your petition may take up to one month after the event.

Cancelling your meeting registration does not automatically cancel your hotel reservation. All registration cancellations and refunds will be processed in the same manner as original payment:

• If paid by credit card, the refund will be issued to the card on record, generally within 5-7 business days of the request.
• Payments made by check will be refunded in one of two ways (additional documentation will be required once the refund request is received):
  
  
  • Domestic registrants: Refund payments will be made directly into your bank account through ASH’s Automated Clearing House (ACH) program.
  • International registrants: Refund payments will be made through a wire transfer.

All Attendees

Admission to all official ASH events will require a proper display of registration badges. Badges should always be worn and are non-transferable. False certification of individuals as paid ASH meeting attendees, misuse of badges, any method of assisting unauthorized persons to gain access to any in-person or virtual meeting event, or inappropriate conduct, including but not limited to harassment, threatening physical or verbal actions, or disorderly or disruptive conduct, will not be tolerated and will be just cause for repossessing badges of any individuals involved and/or revoking access to the meeting or virtual meeting platform. As a result, ASH reserves the right to expel all parties involved and has no obligation to refund registration fees paid.

Financial Professionals

Financial professionals and other individuals whose principal reason for attending the meeting is to seek business opportunities or obtain information affecting investment positions are welcome to register for the meeting. However, the educational and scientific aspects of the meeting are always top priority. Financial professionals are required to identify themselves when speaking with presenters, particularly when asking questions for which the answers may have implications for corporate valuation or positions in equity markets. Speakers and moderators are also asked to give preference to questioners with scientific or clinical inquiries.

Children

For safety reasons, children under the age of 12 (including infants in carriers and strollers, or hand-carried infants and toddlers) are not permitted in the exhibit hall or poster sessions. Additionally, ASH prohibits all children and infants from the sessions, as they may distract the speakers and disrupt other attendees. Attendees should contact ASH for assistance with childcare options in advance of the meeting.

Prohibited Behavior

In crowded sessions, please honor the instructions provided by ASH staff. You may be told not to stand against the walls in these rooms or not to block the aisles. Please note that if a room reaches full capacity, you may be denied entry, as ASH must obey the guidelines established by the Fire Marshal.

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Name Badge Scanning

As part of ASH's ongoing efforts to improve the member experience, RFID-enabled badges will be used at the ASH annual meeting. This technology allows ASH to better understand which sessions and topics generate the most interest and will inform how future meetings are structured. No identifying personal information will be stored in the RFID badge, only an ID number. Badge scanning will only be used at entrances to session rooms and select ASH events. Data collected will only be used for program planning purposes and will not be shared or sold to other entities. Attendees who have questions or concerns can contact [email protected].

Virtual Platform Data Collection

As a participant of the meeting, you have read and agreed to ASH's Privacy Policy and ASH's Terms of Service that are available on the ASH website. Attendees who have questions or concerns can contact [email protected].

A. General

Materials presented at the ASH annual meeting, including all slides, written and oral presentations, posters, and other materials displayed shown or otherwise published during the meeting (the “Meeting Materials”) are protected by copyright, and may not be publicly displayed or republished (including social media) without the express written consent of the copyright owner, ASH, or (in the case of the slides and posters) the presenter or author except as expressly provided in this Policy.

B. Photographs and Audio Recording

1. Limited Right to Share: Except as provided in Sections A and B.2 of this Policy, attendees of the ASH annual meeting may take photographs and make audio recordings (but no video recordings) of meeting materials for personal, non-commercial use, which are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license (available in its entirety at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode). This means that, except as provided in Sections A and B.2 of this Policy, attendees may share a limited number of photographs or short audio recordings of the meeting materials in a reasonable manner, as determined by ASH, in any medium or format subject to the following terms:
   
   
   1. Attribution - an attendee must give appropriate credit to the original author, and may not in any way suggest that the original author endorses the attendee or his or her use;
   2. Non-Commercial - an attendee may not use the meeting materials for commercial purposes; and
   3. No Derivatives - If an attendee remixes, transforms, or builds upon the meeting material, he or she may not distribute or publish the modified material.
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2. Poster and Exhibit Hall Presentations: Attendees of the ASH meeting may take photographs and make recordings of meeting materials associated with Poster and Exhibit Hall presentations and displays for personal, non-commercial use only. Attendees are strictly prohibited from sharing meeting materials associated with poster presentations without the express consent of the presenter or exhibitor and the copyright owner of such meeting materials.

C. No Disruptive Recordings or Photos

Attendees taking photos or audio recordings of meeting materials must do so in a non-disruptive manner so as not to disturb the presenter and other attendees. Flash photography is strictly prohibited.

D. No Video Recording, Live Audio, or Video Streaming

Sharing any recordings of meeting materials, including livestreaming audio or video recordings, is strictly prohibited.

E. Violators

Violators of this Policy may be asked to leave the room or session and may be escorted and barred from the ASH meeting. Repeat violators may have their ASH meeting badges and/or virtual meeting access revoked and not be allowed to return to attend the remainder of the ASH meeting.

F. Disclaimer

ASH will have professional photographers present at the meeting, and portions of the meeting will be recorded. Any photographs or recordings taken during the meeting may be used in future ASH publications, online, or in other ASH materials. Attendance or participation in the meeting constitutes an agreement with ASH by the registrant for the Society to digitally store use and distribute the registrant's image or voice in photographs, videotapes, audiotapes, or other electronic media pertaining to the ASH annual meeting events and activities. Credentialed media/press will also attend the meeting and have permission to capture photos, video, and audio in public areas of the convention center. Registered media attendees are required to always display their press badge and camera tags while on site at the meeting.

The ASH Annual Meeting Copyright and Reuse Policy for Abstracts, Presentations, and Presentation Materials can be found here