It is with great regret the JACIE has learned that on June 17th, Dr. Vladimir Koza, the founder of the Czech National Marrow Donor Registry, passed away after suffering from serious illness.
Dr. Koza worked actively in the EBMT since joining as a member and presided with great success the EBMT 2005 Meeting in Prague. He was also particularly involved with the Outreach Committee and the JACIE Board as the Czech National Representative. His death is a great loss and he will be sorely missed by the EBMT and JACIE.
Our thoughts and condolences are with his family, friends and colleagues that will miss him.
Best regards,
Christian Chabannon on behalf of the JACIE Board
In memoriam: Vladimír Koza
On 17 June 2012, at the age of 58 years, Vladimír Koza passed away after a long and hopeless disease. He founded the Czech National Marrow Donors Registry in 1992 which he built up to become one of the largest and first WMDA accredited in Eastern & Central Europe. The register of volunteer donors that Vladimír created served as a model for establishing numerous similar registries in many countries in our region and he was always willing to selflessly share his experiences with others. He worked actively in the WMDA since its foundation and contributed significantly to the development and establishment of the WMDA accreditation program, recently as one of the first reviewers. Vladimír really pioneered the WMDA program in East&Central Europe. His originality and open mind combined with critical judgment provided a creative atmosphere in all sessions he has attended. Vladimír Koza was well educated and inspiring companion for discussion (which were held usually at the smokers area), not only in science but also in arts, social and political issues. He will remain unforgettable to anyone who had the opportunity to meet him.
Goodbye friend! Pavel Jindra,
Chief Physician’s Deputy CNMDR