[50 years GTH -- expectations, progress, disappointments. A personal perspective]

The Deutsche Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Blutgerinnungsforschung (DAB) (German Working Party on Blood Coagulation) was founded in 1956 by a few German specialists in haemostasis. In 1982, the DAB was replaced by the Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (GTH), which was multinational, with emphasis on German speaking countries. Since I started in this field there was steady progress in the diagnosis and treatment of haemorrhagic and thrombotic disorders. Milestones were the production of effective and safe factor VIII and IX concentrates for haemophilia treatment, the diagnosis of venous thromboembolic disorders by non-invasive methods, the definition of thrombophilic states by laboratory methods and the diagnosis and treatment of immune coagulopathies. In other fields, progress was less impressive. During the last decades attempts have been made to optimize and standardize diagnosis and treatment in the thrombosis and haemostasis field (evidence based medicine). Despite guidelines and consensus statements the clinical problems in individual patients are still frequent and considerable. Therefore, physicians with a special expertise in the field of thrombosis and haemostasis are needed.