Welcome on behalf of the Groupe de Travail sur la Filtration Erythrocytaire

Abstract

First of all, on behalf of the French Group, I would like to welcome all of our usual and also the newcomers. This is a slowly increasing ring. We have been in this room for quite a few years now. It is in this room that we started with John Dormandy preparing the London international conference, and there is already quite a lot of history here: we are already keeping to the same seats year after year! I very much enjoy these informal meetings. I think they are essential to the progress of our discipline and I sincerely hope that they will be able to go on for very many years. I think these informal scientific meetings, with no treasurer, vice-treasurer, sub-chairman and chairman are important because the only thing we are thinking about here is what these little cells are doing when they are going through filter pores and we do not have other problems obscuring our minds.