The Executive Council of the American Society of Andrology (ASA) met in the evening of March 10, 2020 and considered all available information concerning the transmission of disease caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), risks to the health of ASA members and meeting attendees, as well as speaker and attendee travel restrictions. As a result, the ASA Executive Council, recognizing that the safety and health of the meeting attendees is our top priority, voted unanimously to cancel the 2020 Annual Meeting that was scheduled for April 25-28 in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. The meeting will not be rescheduled.

The ASA leadership and management have been closely following developments domestically and internationally concerning the coronavirus outbreak. We made our decision based on evidence from local, regional, national, and international public health agencies even before today’s classification of COVID-19 as a global pandemic by the World Health Organization. The US federal government’s steps to contain the disease by restricting international travelers from entering the country impacts our scientific program. In addition, the home institutions of many of our meeting participants have imposed travel and group meeting restrictions that severely affect our ability to stage a successful meeting.

In keeping with the ASA’s mission to advance discovery and education in andrology, we are presently developing plans to sponsor educational activities for the society membership over the next 12 months.

Regarding registration fees and submitted abstracts:

• Registration fees will be refunded (this may take a few weeks to process however you do not need to take any action to receive your refund).
• If you would like to use your payment toward your registration fee for ASA 2021 or make a charitable donation to the ASA Endowment Fund, please contact Michelle O’Connor at 847-752-5355 or moconnor@veritasmeetingsolutions.com.
• The publication of submitted abstracts has been halted. We are considering options that may give authors the opportunity to withdraw their abstracts or to have their posters presented in a virtual forum.

The decision to cancel the meeting was not taken lightly but was primarily based on considerations for the health of all individuals associated with the conference. We thank all of our speakers, presenters, supporters, attendees, committee volunteers and management staff for their patience and support at this time. Additional information regarding hotel reservation cancellations, registration refunds, and other logistics will be available soon on the FAQ page on the ASA website. We hope you are well and that this disease does not directly affect you or your family, friends, and associates and look forward to seeing you at the 2021 Annual Meeting (details will be forthcoming soon).