Cees Th. Smit Sibinga is a clinical haematologist and Transfusion Medicine specialist, emeritus professor of International Development of Transfusion Medicine at the University of Groningen, The Netherlands. He is still active in many international functions, teaching and training positions in Transfusion Medicine. He is instrumental in numerous international development programmes, advising and guiding Governments in national blood safety and availability reform programmes. He is the organiser of 28 annual International Symposia on Blood Transfusion in Groningen, and the author/editor of over 350 scientific publications and 37 books on transfusion medicine aspects. He was the founding father of ESFH (1981) and co-founder of WAA (1984) and BEST Collaborative (1991). Lately (2012) he served as the President of the 11th European Congress on E-Learning (ECEL) in Groningen. He is a Fellow in Transfusion Medicine of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of Edinburgh and Pathologists in London, UK. Currently he serves WHO as an Member of the Expert Committee for Blood Transfusion. He was the co-ordinator for the European Region of the WHO Quality Management Training courses.