Working with leaders from a group of national patient associations, Schnabel convened a global meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark, on June 25, 1963. There were representatives from 12 countries: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Schnabel’s opening words to those assembled still ring true: “The threat to the life of just one hemophiliac would be sufficient reason for us to travel to this meeting. We are here, however, to help the hundreds of thousands of hemophiliacs by adding another organization which can be instrumental, in liaison with national societies.”
At the Copenhagen meeting, Schnabel was elected interim chairman, Henri Chaigneau (France) and John Walsh (U.S.A.) were elected interim vice-chairmen. Interim medical secretaries were Cecil Harris, MD (Canada), E. Neumark, MD (U.K.), and Knut-Eric Sjolin, MD (Denmark). Sir Weldon Dalrymple-Champneys (U.K.), Professor Kenneth Brinkhous (U.S.A.), and Professor J.P. Soulier (France) were elected as the interim Medical and Scientific Advisory Board.