The IPITA, IXA and CTRMS Councils have agreed that the 2021 biennial meeting will be Joint meeting of the three societies. Traditionally the congresses of these societies are held separately during alternate years of the TTS Congress; IPITA, IXA and CTRMS have held two joint Congresses in 2007 and again in 2015.

The Joint Congress will bring together clinicians and scientists from all parts of the world in their respective fields of work. Through invited plenary lectures, oral communications, and poster presentations, the very latest advances in the fields are presented and discussed, and friendships and collaborations developed and nurtured.

In view of the locations of recent past Congresses, the Council would like to encourage applications from North, Central and South America and Asia. The Societies will not be seeking applications from organizations within Europe.

INTERNATIONAL PANCREAS AND ISLET TRANSPLANTATION ASSOCIATION (IPITA)

The International Pancreas and Islet Transplant Association is a scientific forum for the exchange and discussion of clinical and experimental results and experiences relevant to transplantation of insulin producing tissue in the treatment and cure of diabetes mellitus.

LIST OF UPCOMING AND PAST CONGRESSES:

Year	Congress	Location	Congress Chair
2019	17th IPITA Congress	Lyon, France	Xavier Martin
2017	16th IPITA Congress	Oxford, United Kingdom	Paul Johnson
2015	15th (IPITA/IXA/CTS Joint Congress)	Melbourne, Australia	Tom Kay
2013	14th IPITA Congress	Monterey, CA, USA	Peter Stock
2011	13th IPITA Congress	Prague, Czech Republic	Frantisek Saudek
2009	12th (IPITA/IXA Joint Congress)	Venice, Italy	Emanuele Cozzi
2007	11th (IPITA/IXA/CTS Joint Congress)	Minneapolis, USA	Bernhard Hering
2005	10th IPITA Congress	Geneva, Switzerland	Thierry Berney
2003	9th IPITA Congress	Dublin, Ireland	David Hickey
2001	8th IPITA Congress	Innsbruck, Austria	Raimund Margreiter
1999	7th IPITA Congress	Sydney, Australia	Jeremy Chapman

THE INTERNATIONAL XENOTRANSPLANTAION ASSOCIATION (IXA)

The International Xenotransplantation Association (IXA) was established at the Montreal '98 Congress of The Transplantation Society, with the aim of providing a forum for those with a special interest in xenotransplantation.

The IXA’s mission is to promote xenotransplantation as a safe, ethical, and effective therapeutic modality by: 1) fostering the science of xenotransplantation through promotion of ethical clinical and pre-clinical research, productive discourse, and collaboration; 2) educating health care providers and lay persons through broad, representative participation in interactive public debate; and 3) guiding the development of scientifically sound, internationally consistent public policy that is responsive to new developments in the field and acknowledges varying social, ethical and legal frameworks.

LIST OF UPCOMING AND PAST CONGRESSES:

Year	Congress	Location	Congress Chair
2019	15th IXA Congress	Munich, Germany	Eckhard Wolf
2017	14th IXA Congress	Baltimore, Maryland	Agnes Azimzadeh
2015	13th (IPITA/IXA/CTS Joint Congress)	Melbourne, Australia	Tom Kay
2013	12th IXA Congress	Osaka, Japan	Shuji Myiagawa
2011	11th (IXA/CTS Joint Congress)	Miami, USA	Camillo Ricordi
2009	10th (IXA/IPITA Joint Congress)	Venice, Italy	Emanuele Cozzi
2007	9th (IPITA/IXA/CTS Joint Congress)	Minneapolis, USA	Bernhard Hering
2005	8th IXA Congress	Goteborg, Sweden	Michael Breimer
2003	7th IXA Congress	Glasgow, UK	Robert Lechlet
2001	6th IXA Congress	Chicago, USA	Joseph Leventhal

CELL TRANSPLANT AND REGENERATIVE MEDICINE SOCIETY (CTRMS)

The Cell Transplant and Regenerative Medicine Society exists to be the leader in developing and translating, safe cellular and regenerative therapies to patients. The Society will promote research, collaboration and focus on regulatory matters, as they relate to clinical translation.

The Society’s objectives are 1) The Society shall promote and encourage education and research with respect to cellular transplantation and regenerative medicine. 2) The Society shall collaborate with existing public and private organizations to promote and encourage education and research in cellular transplantation and regenerative medicine and will participate and assist in the coordination of efforts or formulation of research and clinical programs.

LIST OF UPCOMING AND PAST CONGRESSES (CTS/CTRMS):

Year	Congress	Location	Congress Chair
2019	15th CTRMS Congress	Lesvos, Greece	Maria Koulmanda
2017	14th CTRMS Congress (new name)	Halifax, Canada	Robert Fisher
2015	13th (IPITA/IXA/CTS Joint Congress)	Melbourne, Australia	Tom Kay
2013	12th CTS Congress	Milan, Italy	Livio Luci
2011	11th (IXA/CTS Joint Congress)	Miami, USA	Camillo Ricordi
2009	10th CTS Congress	Okayama, Japan	Naoya Kobayashi
2007	9th (IPITA/IXA/CTS Joint Congress)	Minneapolis, USA	Bernhard Hering
2005	8th CTS Congress	Milano, Italy	Antonio Secchi
2004	7th CTS Congress	Boston, USA	Gordon Weir
2003	6th CTS Congress	Atlanta, USA	Colin Weber
2001	7th CTS Congress	Keystone, CO, USA	Ronald Gill
1999	4th CTS Congress	Montreux, Switzerland	Philippe Morel

The Local Organizing Committee organizes the Congress in partnership with the IPITA, IXA and CTRMS. The Local Organizing Committee (LOC) is typically composed of professionals involved in the field of islet, pancreas, xenotransplantation and cell transplantation community in their respective region or country and will work closely with the Congress Board made up of members of the council of all three Societies. Aside from operational and legal responsibilities, the LOC assumes a major role in raising funds for the Congress and must be committed to assuming a portion of the financial risk/benefit of organizing the Congress.

The Local Organizing Committees must demonstrate that they are:

• Paid members of IPITA/IXA/CTRMS. Specifically, the Chairman of the LOC must be an active member in good standing (dues paid) at the time of submitting the proposal until the conclusion of the event;
• Able to undertake and manage key elements of the Congress. Demonstrated previous experience by the Chair in organizing other meetings is required;
• Capable of promoting, organizing and hosting the Congress in a manner consistent with the Societies previous Congresses, including adherence to quality standards of content, organization and additional Society principles with regard to the treatment of sponsors, ethical policy and communication.
• Legally permitted to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to host the Congress and carry out all contracts and negotiations. The MOU will underline obligations of all parties involved.

Each LOC preparing a bid to host will be requested to participate in a 30-minute conference call with representatives of the three Societies to present the operational and strategic details of the bid as outlined below:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED HOST CITY
The description should include: the size of the city and population, access for international delegates, distance from the airport to the city, and sample flight costs from major capitals.

PROPOSED DATES
Typically, the meeting has been held between May and October (excluding July/August) and usually extends 5 days, including a half-day of pre-symposium sessions.

VENUE
Specifications concerning the following items are recommended to be included in the bid:

• Meeting Rooms
  • Floor plans and room capacities
  • Photographs of the proposed space
• Food and Beverage
  Facility availability and estimated costs for food and beverage including continental breakfast, coffee breaks, lunch and social events
• Equipment
  • Audio-visual packages for the proposed venue
  • Internet/Wi-Fi costing
• Nearby Conveniences
  • Restaurants and/or other venues for social receptions
  • Access and recommendations of public transportation
• References
  Recommendations of social venues for Welcome Reception and Conference Dinner(s) should be described with approximate costs and guest capacities.

HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS
Include a list of a range of accommodations from three to five star categories. The hotel name and price range should be included in the bid document. Distances from hotels to the venue should be provided.

DESIGNATION AND DESCRIPTION OF THE LOCAL ORGANIZING COMMITTEE
A general description of the local organization or institution, containing their previous Congress organizing experience, along with local or national transplant society partner(s) that can promote and support the Congress should be comprised in the bid. The Chairman and key contact person, along with other members of the national transplant community should be listed.

PRELIMINARY BUDGET FOR THE CONGRESS
All items listed in the attached budget template must be completed in order to be considered. Other items such as communications, promotion and local contract costs may be estimated but will not be factored into the final analysis. The TTS office can provide a sample of past Congress budgets upon request to support the development of a draft budget for the proposal.

CONGRESS PROMOTION
The host organization will begin the promotion of this meeting on its website with the signing of the Congress MOU. Invitations for abstracts will be sent to all members and posted on the Congress and Societies websites. Registration and abstract submission tools, linked to the Congress website should be developed and organized by a Professional Conference Organizer (PCO), which may include services provided by the TTS office in collaboration with a local PCO. Ongoing website maintenance and promotional material updates should be completed by the Congress PCO.

CONGRESS CONTENT
IPITA requires the following specific sessions to be included in the Congress Scientific Program and its preliminary drafts:

• IPITA business meeting/travel Awards presentation (60 minutes)
• IPITA Presidential Lecture (30 minutes)
• The Richard Lillehei Lecture (45 minutes)
• Derek Gray Fellowship Award and Presentation (30 minutes)
• The Paul Lacy Memorial Lecture (45 minutes)

IXA requires the following specific sessions to be included in the Congress Scientific Program and its preliminary drafts:

• IXA Business meeting/Travel Awards presentation (60 minutes)
• IXA Presidential Lecture (45 minutes)
• The Keith Reemtsma Lecture (45 minutes)
• IXA Honorary Member Lecture (30 minutes)

CTRMS requires the following specific sessions be included in the program of the meeting and any preliminary program should include these sessions for consideration of timing and placement in the program by the Council of the CTRMS:

• CTRMS business meeting/travel awards presentation (60 minutes)
• CTRMS Presidential lecture (30 minutes)

OTHER REQUIREMENTS
IPITA, IXA and CTRMS are Sections of The Transplantation Society, as such the office of the TTS provides management and congress organization services to the three Societies. Any LOC preparing a bid to host the Joint Congress should be willing to work with the TTS International Headquarters to successfully plan and execute the Joint Congress of the IPITA/IXA/CTRMS. The role and cost for services provided by TTS will be defined further during the bid presentations of selected destinations.

PLEASE NOTE: Bids will not be accepted from Conference bureaus or Professional Conference Organizers unless they are working directly with an institution, transplant society or local organizing committee.

Actions	Deadline
Letter of intent to submit a bid. Letters of intent should be sent to the attention of Sondra Livingston, Director of Operations at the TTS office, sondra.livingston@tts.org.	January 13th, 2019
Deadline to submit your complete proposal.	March 1st, 2019
Presentations of the complete proposal in person or by Skype to the associations’ representatives.	April-May 2019
Final selection of the bid to host 2021 Joint Congress. The Councils of the three associations will review and determine the winning destination.	June 2019

All proposals should contain the following information along with all aforementioned requirements mentioned in this document. Should you have any questions regarding the bid submission or process please contact Sondra Livingston, Director of Operations at the TTS, sondra.livingston@tts.org or by phone at +1.514.874.1717 ext. 205.