History of the Society

The International Society for Prenatal Diagnosis was founded in 1996 and is derived from the meetings of the International Congresses on Early Prenatal Diagnosis. 

The original meetings were convened in the United Kingdom with the purpose of serving as an exchange for the evolving procedure of chorionic villus sampling.  This initial goal expanded in response to the need of the international scientific community for focused communication in the discipline.  In 1988 Dr Aris Antsaklis hosted the Fourth Congress, an expanded, well-attended meeting in Athens.  Other highly successful meetings followed this:

• Prague, 1990, hosted by Milan Macek
• Milan, 1992, hosted by Bruno Brambati
• Jerusalem, 1994, hosted by Haim Zakut
• Goa, 1996, hosted by RP Soonawala
• Kyoto, 2006, hosted by Kaoru Suzumori
• Vancouver, 2008, co-Chaired by Sylvie Langlois and R. Douglas Wilson (hosted by ISPD)
• Amsterdam, 2010, co-Chaired by Karen Sermon and Jan van Lith (hosted by ISPD)

Throughout these Congresses, participants prided themselves on not being a formally codified gathering only for the purpose of scientific exchange.  Although this formula was relatively successful in the past, it increasingly became evident that lack of a formal organisation hampered local organisers.  In Jerusalem (1994), it was decided to establish formally an International Society.  The goal continued to be fostering international exchange in prenatal genetic diagnosis through governance of a society that was democratic in nature.  The initial officers were selected by the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Goa Congress and directed to proceed in organisation.  These officers were Joe Leigh Simpson (USA), President; Haim Zakut (Israel), Secretary; Henri Goldstein (Denmark), Treasurer.  Initial Board members were Bruno Brambati (Italy), Malcolm Ferguson-Smith (UK), Enrique Gadow (Argentina), Laird Jackson (USA), Larry Platt (USA) and Charles Rodeck (UK).The Society has continued to hold regular meetings:

• Los Angeles, 1998, hosted by Lawrence D Platt, Mark I Evans and Joe Leigh Simpson;
• Barcelona, 2000, hosted by Albert Fortuny;
• Buenos Aires, 2002, hosted by Enrique Gadow; and
• Budapest, 2004, hosted by Zoltan Papp.

With support from the March of Dimes in the United States, by-laws and documentation were prepared and the Society formally registered in the United States (Illinois).  Of special note is the requirement that Officers and Board members serve fixed terms of office and then rotate off.  Briefly, all three officers step down after terms of office.  Half of the Board members also rotate off, with the remaining three rotating off two years hence.  An Executive Director, Program Director, Director of Website Services and Manager of Membership Services are provided by the Society's association management company, Custom Management Group, located in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA.  Please see the Contact page for address, phone and e-mail information.