In memory of Jean Jacques Lefrère: Passive immunotherapy for AIDS.

The first session of the congress was entitled “in the memory of ean Jacque Lefrère”, eminent professor of Hematology and Virology nd researcher. He was professor of Hematology at the Paris Descartes Univerity, director of the National Institute of Blood Transfusion, national xpert in transfusion and transfusion security, prions, viruses and lood related transmissible agents. He published more than 300 apers in international reviews and many medical books as “Use f the blood components” and “Transfusion in Hematology”. He was also a popular writer known as a specialist of the French oet Rimbaud. He was also a pioneer of Passive Immunotherapy in AIDS Plasma therapy consists in the transfusion of plasma to patients enerally suffering from a severe infection, in the absence of curaive treatment. Plasma is obtained from: either voluntary healthy mmunized individuals or convalescent persons. Plasma therapy has been used since the Spanish flu in 917–1918, and then regularly when viral epidemics threatened ulnerable populations, the last reported occurrence being the 013–2015 Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa. In the 1980th decade, a terrible and lethal viral epidemic ppeared: AIDS epidemic. We learned soon that: it is due to a virus (1984), the serological creening is possible (1985), the progression is slow, terminal issue s always lethal, there is no efficient vaccine (until now), no efficient reatment was available. First anti-retroviral drug, Zidovudine was ried from 1987. In 1999, WHO professed that AIDS was the 4th main cause of eath worldwide and number one killer in Africa. 14 million people ad died from AIDS since the start of the epidemic. Jean Jacques had a courageous idea of passive Immunotherapy or AIDS. At that time, the only available drug was Zidovudine, its