The American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy (“ASTCT,” “we,” or “us”) has created and posted this privacy policy in an effort to maintain efficient service while respecting your privacy and protecting your personal information. This privacy policy is incorporated into, and is a part of, the Terms and Conditions of Use Agreement of our website. Specifically, this privacy policy covers the following topics:

• Information Collection
• Children’s Information
• Information Use
• Information Sharing
• Access to and Control of Information
• Data Security
• Data Retention
• Data Transfer
• External Links
• Privacy Policy Updates
• Acceptance of Privacy Policy Terms
• ASTCT Contact Information

Information Collection

This privacy policy applies to information that ASTCT collects (i) on the ASTCT Website (“Site”); (ii) through other platforms used in connection with the services and products that we provide; and (iii) by telephone, email, text message, letter, or other methods of communication. When you use our services or products, we collect information provided voluntarily as well as information collected automatically, as described in detail below.

Information Provided Voluntarily

• Member and Site Visitor Information: We will collect personal information that you provide to us, including, but not limited to, your name; employer’s name; job title; mailing addresses; e-mail addresses; telephone numbers; date of birth; user name and password; education and employment history; photographs; and company contacts for corporate members. Such information is necessary to facilitate your access to, use of, purchase of, or participation in our service and product offerings, including, but not limited to, membership; events, meetings, or conferences; educational programs; surveys; and online forums. Please note that you may decline to share your personal information with us, in which case we may not be able to provide you with certain aspects of our services or products.
• Member Demographic Information. We will collect demographic information that you provide to us, including, but not limited to, age, gender, race, nationality, household income, and education. You will be asked to consent to the collection of such information in accordance with this privacy policy at the time of collection, and you may withdraw that consent at any time. Such information is collected to analyze member demographics and improve the member experience.
• Payment Information: If you choose to purchase a product or service, we and/or our third-party payment processors will collect your payment information, including, but not limited to, your credit or debit card number, card verification value (CVV) number, and expiration date.
• Enrollment, Registration, and Order Form Information: In order to enroll in or register for an ASTCT program, attend ASTCT events, meetings, or conferences, or request ASTCT products or services, you will be required to fill out a registration or order form and provide personal information, which we will use to process your registration or order. In certain circumstances, a program, event, meeting, or conference accessed through the Site may be jointly sponsored or co-sponsored with another organization. If the enrollment or registration is handled by such other organization, that organization’s (not ASTCT’s) privacy policy will apply and be controlling. Please note that ASTCT is not responsible for the privacy policies of such other organizations or their collection, use, sharing, or other processing of your personal or other information, and ASTCT hereby disclaims any liability or responsibility in connection therewith.

Information Collected Automatically

• Automated Information: Your web browser or mobile device automatically provides information when you visit the Site, including, but not limited to, your Internet Protocol (IP) address or unique device identifier.
• Cookies: Cookies are pieces of stored information on a user’s computer or device that are tied to information about the user and used to provide smoother navigation throughout the Site, such as to store a saved password; to identify user trends, such as page views; and for other internal purposes, such as to assess the effectiveness of the Site. The Site uses session ID cookies, which terminate when a user closes the browser. You will be asked to consent to the use of cookies in accordance with this privacy policy when you visit the Site. You have the option of setting your computer to disable cookies or to alert you when cookies are being used. If you choose to disable cookies, please be aware that portions of the Site may not function properly.
• Log Files: Log files store information such as a user’s IP address, browser type, Internet Service Provider (ISP), referring/exit pages, platform type, date/time stamp, and number of clicks. Like most Websites, the Site uses log files to analyze trends, administer the Site, and track users’ movement on the Site. These technologies help us to ascertain the effectiveness of our product and service campaigns and marketing programs, allow us to customize the services offered on or through our Site, and help determine the best use for website content product and service offerings.
• Google AdWords: This Site uses the Google AdWords remarketing service to advertise on third-party Websites (including Google) to previous visitors to the Site. We may advertise to previous visitors who have not completed a task on the Site, for example, using the contact form to make an inquiry. The task may appear in the form of an advertisement on the Google search results page or a site in the Google Display Network. Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on users’ past visits to the Site. Any data collected will be used in accordance with this privacy policy and Google’s privacy policy. Users may opt out of this service through the Google Ads Settings or Google Ad Settings mobile resource.

Children’s Information

The Site and our services and products are not directed toward children under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect information from children. If we become aware that a child has provided us with information without parental consent, that information will be deleted from our records.

Information Use

ASTCT uses the information that we collect to provide our services and products and to operate our business. We may use and store such information for legitimate and lawful business purposes, for example, in order to:

• Provide a service or product you requested;
• Secure your membership status;
• Fulfill your membership benefits;
• Analyze and evaluate member and prospective member needs and interests, and improve the member and prospective member experience;
• Notify you of ASTCT official business, news, activities, programs, events, meetings, conferences, services, products, and benefits;
• Send occasional email communications on behalf of vendors;
• Track event, meeting, and conference attendance;
• Track education related activities;
• Prepare invoices and process payments;
• Respond to communications and inquiries that you send to us;
• Promote the function, safety, and security of our services;
• Carry out our obligations and obligations and enforce our rights arising from any contract entered into between you and us; and
• For other legitimate and lawful business purposes.

For individuals located in the European Economic Area (“EEA”) or the United Kingdom (“UK”), we rely on multiple legal bases to collect, use, share, or otherwise process your personal data, including that:

• You have given consent, which you may withdraw at any time;
• It is necessary for us to perform a contract with you;
• It is necessary for us to comply with legal obligations;
• It is necessary for our or a third party’s legitimate interests;
• It is necessary for us to perform a task in the public interest or for our official functions; and/or
• It is necessary to protect someone’s life.

To the extent we rely on our legitimate interests as a legal basis to collect, use, share, or otherwise process your personal data, those interests include, for example: providing a product or service you requested; securing your membership status; fulfilling your membership benefits; analyzing and evaluating member and prospective member needs and interests, and improving the member and prospective member experience; notifying you of ASTCT official business, news, activities, programs, events, meetings, conferences, services, products, and benefits; sending occasional email communications on behalf of vendors; tracking event, meeting, and conference attendance; tracking education related activities; preparing invoices and processing payments; responding to communications and inquiries that you send to us; and promoting the function, safety, and security of our services.

In general, we will use the personal information we collect from you only for the purposes described in this privacy policy or for purposes that we explain to you at the time we collect your personal information. We may also use your personal information, however, for other purposes that are not incompatible with the purposes we have disclosed to you (such as archiving purposes in the public interest, research purposes, or statistical purposes) if and where this is permitted by applicable data protection laws.

Information Sharing

Personal information may be given to a third party in order to complete a specific business transaction on behalf of ASTCT. Such transactions may include the following:

• Your name and contact information, as provided to ASTCT, may be shared with ASTCT members to provide a service, satisfy a question, or develop a prospective business relationship. We are not responsible for members’ use or misuse of your personal information.
• Your name and contact information, as provided to ASTCT, may appear on registration or attendee lists distributed at ASTCT programs, events, meetings, and conferences to other attendees, including members, and third parties, including, but not limited to, exhibitors or sponsors. We are not responsible for use or misuse of your personal information by attendees, members, exhibitors, sponsors, or the like.
• We may share your personal information with third parties that provide services to ASTCT including, but not limited to, administration/operation support; marketing, promotions, and communications; program, event, meeting, or conference enrollment, registration, planning, hosting, or management; Website hosting; database management; payment card processing; or other data processing.
• We also may disclose personal information if we become subject to a subpoena, court order, or law enforcement or other government agency inquiry or investigation or if we are otherwise legally required to disclose such information. We also may use and disclose information about you to establish or exercise our legal rights, to enforce the Terms and Conditions of Use Agreement, to assert and defend against legal claims, or if we believe such disclosure is necessary or prudent to investigate, prevent, or take other action regarding actual or suspected illegal or fraudulent activities or potential threats to the physical safety or well-being of any person.
• If all or part of ASTCT is merged into or otherwise transferred to another entity, we may transfer the personal information you provided to us to such entity as part of that transaction.

Access to and Control of Information

ASTCT takes your privacy and the protection of your personal information seriously, and we will provide you with reasonable access to and control of the personal information that you have provided to us. You may request to update your personal information or to opt in to or opt out of any service offerings at any time. Please note that limitations on our ability to collect and maintain your personal data as a result of opting out of collection may result in us not being able to provide you with certain aspects of our services or products.

For individuals located in the EEA or the UK, you may have additional rights concerning your personal data, such as to access, obtain a copy of, correct, restrict, transfer, or delete that information or to withdraw your consent to the collection, use, sharing, or other processing of that information. Such individuals also have the right to object to the processing of their personal information. To make any request with respect to your personal information, please contact ASTCT as set forth below in the “ASTCT Contact Information” section. 

Data Security

We employ reasonable physical, electronic, and procedural security measures to safeguard your personal information and to help protect against unauthorized access and disclosure. Online registration information, such as payment card information, will be secured using a commercially accepted method of encryption. However, please be aware that no method of electronic transmission is completely infallible, and we cannot guarantee its absolute safety. We encourage you to use reasonable care in how you handle and disclose your personal information, username(s), and password(s). If you become aware of any breach of Site security, please contact us immediately.

Data Retention

ASTCT retains your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected as set forth in this privacy policy, after which we will securely destroy or delete such personal information from our records unless otherwise required by law. We will retain and use information as necessary to comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, enforce agreements, and as otherwise set forth in this privacy policy.

Data Transfer

If you are visiting the Site from outside the United States, please be aware that you are sending information, including personal data, to the United States where our servers are located. That information may then be transferred within the United States or to other countries outside the United States other than your country of residence. Countries other than your country of residence, including the United States, may have data privacy and protection laws that differ from, and potentially provide less protection than, the applicable laws in your country of residence.

To the extent that ASTCT may be deemed to have transferred personal data outside of the EEA or UK, we rely on multiple legal bases for doing so. For individuals located in the EEA or UK: (i) you consent to our use of your personal information in accordance with this privacy policy, including the transfer of your information across international boundaries to jurisdictions anywhere in the world as permitted by applicable law, when you provide your personal information; (ii) we will use the standard contractual data protection clauses adopted by the European Commission, which provide safeguards for the transfer of such data, in connection with the provision of certain services that involve such transfers; and (iii) we may obtain separate consent in connection with the provision of certain services that involve the transfer of personal data.

Our collection, use, sharing, and other processing of your personal information will at all times be governed by this privacy policy.

Forums/Message Boards/Rooms/News Groups

Our Site may make digital forums available to its users. Please remember that any information disclosed in these area becomes public information, and you should exercise caution when deciding to disclose information through these areas of the Site.

External Links

There are external links to other websites throughout the Site, which are provided solely for your convenience. Please note that ASTCT is not responsible for the privacy policies of those other websites and hereby disclaims any liability or responsibility in connection with such linked websites.

Privacy Policy Updates

Should any changes be made to this privacy policy, we will post them on this page with an appropriate explanation. This version is effective as of April 1, 2024.

Acceptance of Privacy Policy Terms

Using the ASTCT Site indicates your acceptance of our privacy policy. Your continued visits to the ASTCT Site after changes are posted to this policy will signify your acceptance of those changes.

ASTCT Contact Information

If you have questions or concerns about this privacy policy or how we process personal information, or if you would like to exercise any of the legal rights set forth in this policy, please contact us at:

American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy

330 North Wabash Avenue

Suite 2000

Chicago, IL 60611

Telephone: 847.375.4745

Email: info@ASTCT.org

In response to a request, we might ask you to verify your identity and provide information that helps us to understand your request better. If you disagree with our data privacy practices, you also may contact your national Data Protection Authority.

Effective: April 1, 2024