International Society for the Study of Vascular Anomalies (ISSVA)

What International Society for the Study of Vascular Anomalies (ISSVA) does

ISSVA is a nonprofit professional medical society organized under U.S. law (headquartered in Milwaukee, WI) that serves as the global authoritative body for the study of vascular anomalies. Founded in 1992 but tracing its origins to biennial international workshops organized by Dr. John Mulliken and Anthony Young beginning in 1976, ISSVA maintains the official ISSVA Classification for Vascular Anomalies — a continuously updated living document that standardizes terminology across the field. The society serves physicians, biomedical scientists, nurses, and allied health professionals across 40+ countries and multiple specialties including interventional radiology, dermatology, surgery, oncology, and pathology.

The society's core products comprise the biennial World Congress (most recently Madrid 2024, Philadelphia 2026, Reykjavik 2028) and the annual Debates & Updates meeting launched in 2021 in a hybrid format; the peer-reviewed open-access Journal of Vascular Anomalies (JoVA), indexed in DOAJ and pursuing PubMed Central indexing; the ISSVA Classification and Glossary; and member-facing digital tools including the Find a Specialist directory, Member Directory, Message Boards, and semi-annual Newsletter. The organization also networks with 15+ patient advocacy organizations and the European VASCERN reference network to extend its ecosystem into the patient and regulatory communities.

ISSVA generates revenue through annual membership dues, conference registration fees (ranging from $175 for students/emerging economy attendees to $600 for industry partners), JoVA publication fees ($250 for ISSVA members), and donations channeled through an ISSVA Education Fund. Operating with a lean staff of 9 employees, the society is governed by a Board of Directors under Wisconsin law and led by President Leo Schultze Kool (as of mid-2024).

Name

International Society for the Study of Vascular Anomalies (ISSVA)

Legal name

International Society for the Study of Vascular Anomalies

Website

https://issva.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ISSVA is a nonprofit professional medical society that maintains the authoritative ISSVA Classification for Vascular Anomalies, publishes the Journal of Vascular Anomalies (JoVA), and convenes physicians, scientists, and allied health professionals globally via biennial World Congresses and annual Debates & Updates meetings.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Medical Professional Society Services

NAICS

Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Medical, Clinical & Biomedical Scholarly Publishing (EDAGAFAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Medical & Clinical Reference (Physicians, Nursing, Allied Health) (EDAGAGAA)

Keywords

• Vascular anomalies classification
• Medical professional society
• Vascular anomalies research
• Medical education conferences
• Open access medical journal

Headquarters

HQ city

Milwaukee

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: ISSVA generates revenue through annual membership fees. Membership is open to physicians and biomedical scientists with an interest in vascular anomalies, with Affiliate membership available for nurses and other health care professionals. Members receive discounted registration fees for ISSVA meetings and discounted publishing fees in JoVA.
2. Meeting Registration Fees: Revenue generated from ISSVA World Congress and Debates & Updates meetings. The 2025 Debates & Updates meeting in Paris had registration rates ranging from $175 to $600 for virtual attendance depending on membership status and category (physician, allied health, student, industry partner).
3. Journal of Vascular Anomalies (JoVA) Publication Fees: ISSVA members receive discounted open access publication fees of $250. Non-member fees are higher. The journal is indexed in DOAJ and moving towards PubMed Central indexing.
4. Donations: ISSVA accepts donations through its website. The organization has an ISSVA Education Fund that is a board-designated initiative assisting educational programs aligned with the mission to promote multidisciplinary education in the field of vascular anomalies. Donations were being matched up to $5,000 USD through December 2025.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

ISSVA is a nonprofit professional medical society that maintains the authoritative ISSVA Classification for Vascular Anomalies, publishes the open-access Journal of Vascular Anomalies (JoVA), and operates the biennial World Congress and annual Debates & Updates meetings. It serves physicians, biomedical scientists, allied health professionals, and patient advocacy organizations through membership programs, educational resources, and a global member directory spanning over 40 countries.

Product overview

ISSVA is a professional medical society organized as a single unified platform centered on its website, which serves as the hub for its educational and membership services. The organization offers a comprehensive portfolio of products including the Journal of Vascular Anomalies (JoVA) as its peer-reviewed open access publication, the biennial World Congress and annual Debates & Updates as its meeting products, the ISSVA Classification for Vascular Anomalies as its classification standard, and member-focused tools such as the Find a Specialist directory, Membership Directory, and Message Boards. The society also publishes a semi-annual Newsletter to communicate with its global membership of physicians and biomedical scientists interested in vascular anomalies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Journal of Vascular Anomalies (JoVA): The official open access peer-reviewed journal of ISSVA dedicated to the scientific investigation, diagnosis, and treatment of congenital and acquired human vascular lesions.

Products and services

• ISSVA Membership Annual membership program for physicians, biomedical scientists, nurses, and allied health professionals involved in vascular anomalies. Members receive discounted meeting registration, discounted JoVA publication fees, message board access, website listing, and newsletters.
• Journal of Vascular Anomalies (JoVA) Online-only open access peer-reviewed journal publishing original scientific research, clinical studies, reviews, case reports, and letters to the editor on vascular anomalies. Indexed in DOAJ and distributed via Ovid.
• ISSVA World Congress Major biennial international congress bringing together vascular anomalies specialists for scientific presentations, poster sessions, networking, and the ISSVA General Assembly. Held in rotating international locations.
• ISSVA Debates & Updates Annual interactive hybrid meeting format featuring panel discussions, case reviews, and audience participation on challenging vascular anomalies cases, complementing the World Congress.
• ISSVA Classification for Vascular Anomalies The official ISSVA classification system and glossary standardizing terminology, definitions, abbreviations, acronyms, eponyms, genes, and syndromes for vascular anomalies. Maintained as a living document.
• Find a Specialist Tool Online directory tool enabling searches for ISSVA member specialists by name, alphabetically, or by geographic region/country, providing contact information and practice locations.

Quantifiable outcome

• ISSVA 2025 Classification published in Journal of Vascular Anomalies (JoVA)
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• VASCERNcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVASCERN is a European Reference Network (ERN), which are virtual networks that gather healthcare providers across Europe. VASCERN is the ERN on rare vascular diseases and is organized into five Rare Disease Working Groups, one of which (VASCA) is focused on vascular anomalies. This partnership supports collaboration between European healthcare providers and ISSVA's global membership.
• Patient Advocacy OrganizationscoreOthersISSVA networks with patient advocacy organizations that support the vascular anomalies community. These organizations support ISSVA's initiatives and are key contributors to providing patients with educational resources while advocating for individuals with vascular anomalies. Listed organizations include CLOVES Syndrome Community, CMTC & Other Vascular Malformations, Federal Association of Congenital Vascular Malformations, Instituto KT Brasil, Hevas, K-T Support Group, Lymphangiomatosis & Gorham's Disease Alliance (LGDA), LGD Alliance Europe, M-CM Network, Patients Association of Vascular Anomalies (PAVA), Phace Syndrome Community, Project FAVA, PTEN Research Foundation, VASCAPA, Vascular Birthmarks Foundation, Vascular Anomalies Canada.
• VASCAPA (VASCular Anomaly Patient Association)minorOthersListed as a patient advocacy organization partner on ISSVA's Patient Advocacy Organizations page.
• Vascular Birthmarks FoundationminorOthersListed as a patient advocacy organization partner on ISSVA's Patient Advocacy Organizations page.
• Vascular Anomalies CanadaminorOthersListed as a patient advocacy organization partner on ISSVA's Patient Advocacy Organizations page.
• CLOVES Syndrome CommunityminorOthersListed as a patient advocacy organization partner on ISSVA's Patient Advocacy Organizations page.
• Lymphangiomatosis & Gorham's Disease Alliance (LGDA)minorOthersListed as a patient advocacy organization partner on ISSVA's Patient Advocacy Organizations page.
• M-CM NetworkminorOthersListed as a patient advocacy organization partner on ISSVA's Patient Advocacy Organizations page.
• PTEN Research FoundationminorOthersListed as a patient advocacy organization partner on ISSVA's Patient Advocacy Organizations page.
• Amedco LLCminorOthersAmedco LLC is jointly accredited by ACCME, ACPE, and ANCC to provide continuing medical education for healthcare professionals. ISSVA meetings offer AMA PRA Category 1 Credits through this partnership.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• American College of Phlebology: Specialty society focused on venous disease and phlebology, another major pillar of the vascular medicine field ISSVA serves. Comparable scale and member-driven congress/journal model.
• Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR): Specialty society for interventional radiologists, one of the core disciplines represented in ISSVA's multidisciplinary membership. Operates similarly with annual meetings, member directory, and the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology.
• Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS): Professional medical society for vascular surgeons that, like ISSVA, maintains clinical standards and hosts major congresses for a multidisciplinary vascular audience. Operates the Journal of Vascular Surgery and shares overlapping membership with ISSVA on vascular anomalies cases.
• Pediatric Dermatology Research Alliance (PeDRA): Multidisciplinary research society focused on pediatric skin conditions, including vascular anomalies. Operates with a similar small-staff, member-driven, annual-meeting, and research-grant model serving an overlapping pediatric dermatology audience.
• European Society of Vascular Medicine: European counterpart society for vascular medicine that, like ISSVA, works to standardize vascular disease classification and education across multiple European countries and disciplines.

Broad incumbents

• American Society of Hematology (ASH): Major hematology specialty society whose members overlap with ISSVA on vascular anomaly topics such as hematologic/oncologic aspects of vascular lesions. Operates Blood journal and a large annual meeting on a comparable society infrastructure model.
• American Academy of Dermatology (AAD): Larger dermatology professional society with significant overlap with ISSVA's dermatology members. Operates the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology and hosts a major annual meeting, offering a broader scope than ISSVA's narrow vascular anomalies focus.
• International Society of Dermatology: Global dermatology society with a similar worldwide membership footprint and congress cadence. Larger and broader than ISSVA, but shares the same model of international professional society publishing and meetings.

Others

• European Reference Network - VASCERN: European Reference Network on rare vascular diseases with which ISSVA has a strategic partnership. Operates as a healthcare provider network rather than a professional society, but is the closest institutional peer in the vascular anomalies space.
• Lymphangiomatosis & Gorham's Disease Alliance (LGDA): Patient advocacy organization partner of ISSVA focused on rare lymphatic and bone vascular conditions. Comparable in mission scope (vascular anomalies) but operates as a patient advocacy nonprofit rather than a physician society.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ISSVA_org
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/issva

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about International Society for the Study of Vascular Anomalies (ISSVA)