InVita Users Conference: Making Waves

2025 Conference Recap: Making the Perfect Wave for Innovation & Advancement

Blood center professionals and industry leaders as well as  technology innovators convened at the InVita 2025 Users Conference (June 3–5) for three days of workshops, presentations, product unveilings, and visionary discussions all to advance the blood banking mission. This year’s event, held at the Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort, explored the strengthening blood management technology landscape, highlighting InVita’s dedication to innovation, integration, and impact.

 

 

Vision, Innovation & Integration

The conference began with a Plenary Session led by Wade Liu, InVita President, Human Biologics, a newly created division at InVita bridging technical knowledge and best practices gained through blood, plasma, and organ & tissue procurement & transplant operations. Participating via video was Todd Collins, President and CEO of InVita, who welcomed participants and provided a snapshot of the driving forces helping to advance our partners’ missions. He closed with a teaser for at least one big announcement to come. Following, Wade moderated a group of key InVita leaders: Tom Wurzbach, Chief Information Security Officer (CISO); Amer Mallah, Chief Technology Officer; Steve Sedlock, Chief Growth Officer; Mike Deming, VP & General Manager, Blood Management; Billie Johnson, Director, Blood Management; and Melissa Kuhn, Manager, Compliance Products. The panel explored “Charting New Waters” in blood management technology. innovations, strategic goals, and a bold vision for the future.
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Leadership is More Than Something You Do

Keynote speaker Cordell Bennigson, a former Marine and global business leader, delivered an inspiring address on “Leadership as a Way of Being,” emphasizing adaptability, resilience, and purpose-driven action. He states: “Our long-term impact is measured by the people we inspire, the leaders we develop, and the positive change we create.” He concludes that our call to action is clear: lead in a way that leaves a positive lasting impact. 

 

Cybersecurity & Compliance

Tom Wurzbach, InVita’s CISO, detailed how InVita is combatting evolving cybersecurity threats with a robust and layered security approach and real-world AWS architecture examples. He also highlighted how newly deployed and advanced tooling help us stay ahead of emerging threats while meeting stringent compliance requirements not only for blood banking, but across elevated standards across all of healthcare.
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Attendees gathered for a festive Welcome Reception, setting the tone for a collaborative and forward-thinking event.

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Product Training Workshops 

The conference kicked off with preconference workshops focusing on the HemaConnect CRM and donor engagement tools, and HemaCollect, providing hands-on insights into how to fully leverage drive staffing and scheduling functionality.

 

Featured Partner Presentations

The Conference showcased engaging presentations from diverse Blood Center leaders on their journeys and successes leveraging the InVita suite of solutions in innovative and impactful ways to tackle real-world challenges and advance the life-saving mission, including:

  • Alyaa Gamal-Eldin and Kevin Shipley from Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center showcased their innovative new Team Leader dashboard in HemaCollect and how it has improved collections efficiency

  • Emilie Webb provided amazing insights into ImpactLife’s implementation of BloodRelay to bolster their IRL LIS operations
  • Theresa Pina from Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center joined InVita’s Steve Sedlock and Mike Deming on stage for an informative fireside chat on Cell and Gene Therapy, providing guidance to blood centers entering this burgeoning space and detailing InVita's role in this transformative clinical domain
  • Emily Boaz and Kyle Boynton from Bloodworks Northwest provided a memorable walkthrough of how HemaConnect Digital Badges and gamification are positively impacting donor recognition and targeted recruitment

  • Kristi Medina provided great insights into how OneBlood has optimized key billing processes including via the implementation of credits rules in BloodHub to automate credit adjudication, transportation and STAT fees and use of BloodBill’s Change Event feature

  • Kristin Agostinelli and Bonnie Powell provided a detailed review of how HemaCollect’s bulk scheduling and site evaluation features have enabled key efficiencies and coverage for Vitalant.

 

Product Announcements, Innovations, and Roadmap

  • The transformative role of AI in blood banking, healthcare, and software development

  • HemaCollect's "Lead to Lifesaver" module explored exciting new capabilities further extending our solutions with account development

  • BloodRelay updates were presented, including exciting news of its expansion into Centralized Transfusion Services (CTS)

  • Engaging announcements sharing What’s New and What’s Next across each Product in the InVita suite

  • Billie Johnson unveiled InVita Integrations Platform, showing how third-party integrations will help improve connectivity and efficiencies across the blood banking ecosystem.
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To conclude, a forward-looking Service Desk session introduced new support tools, and attendees participated in always-anticipated Roadmap Voting Sessions, very directly influencing the direction of upcoming product features. Special thanks go out to all partner presenters and the entire InVita team for sharing such important content and information throughout the conference.

 

A conference high point was the scenic Dinner Cruise to enjoy tropical vibes and relaxed networking on the open sea.
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With record engagement, the InVita 2025 Conference underscored a clear theme: innovation is a team effort. From product updates to AI integration, donor engagement strategies to compliance tools, every session emphasized collaboration, creativity, and commitment to improving the blood management ecosystem.

We look forward to seeing how these conversations, insights, and innovations evolve throughout the year – and beyond. Stay tuned for exciting news about our 2026 Partner Conference – you won’t want to miss it! 

 

Thank you for being a part of InVita's 2025 Users Conference!
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