Our Members
WIRhE’s Team
Foundation Coordinator
Advancing Maternal Health & Women’s Empowerment, NGO Consultant
Coordinator with 10+ years’ experience driving global health and women’s empowerment initiatives. She partners with NGOs and communities to turn strategy into action, delivering measurable, life-changing impact.
Foundation Chair
Head of the Department of Immunohematology at Sanquin Research.
Her research focuses on alloimmunization against blood group antigens, aiming to develop new preventive, diagnostic, and therapeutic approaches for hemolytic transfusion reactions and Hemolytic Disease of the Fetus and Newborn.
WIRhE’s Regional Boards
Honorary Members
Marcela Contreras, MD
Born and trained in medicine in Chile and spent most of her career in the United Kingdom, specializing in immunohematology and transfusion medicine at the National Blood Service for over 20 years.
She also served as Professor of Transfusion Medicine at the Royal Free Hospital Medical School in London. An internationally recognized expert in immunohematology, and widely known as the co-author of the influential textbook Blood Transfusion in Clinical Medicine. In 2007, she was honored as a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
John Gorman, MD
Born in Australia, he completed medical school there before moving to the United States for postgraduate training.
As a young faculty member at Columbia University, he collaborated with Vincent Freda, MD, and William Pollack, PhD, to develop both the theory of immunoprophylaxis for Rh disease and the first licensed Rh immune globulin (RhoGAM).
For this groundbreaking achievement, Drs. Gorman, Freda, and Pollack, together with British colleagues Cyril Clarke and Ronald Finn, were awarded the 1980 Albert Lasker Clinical Medical Research Award.
Alvin Zipursky, MD (1931–2021)
Canadian pediatrician and researcher whose work helped prevent Rh disease, a major cause of newborn illness and death. His studies showed how fetal blood cells enter the mother’s circulation, paving the way for anti-Rh immunoglobulin and transforming care for Rh-negative mothers worldwide.
Dr. Zipursky spent his career expanding access to this life-saving prevention and raising global awareness of Rh disease. A respected mentor and advocate, he combined scientific discovery with compassion, leaving a legacy that continues to inspire WIRhE’s mission.
