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Knowledge synthesis forum highlights dedication of research teams and stakeholders, commitment of Canadian blood operators

Modified on:

Jul 30, 2020

In 2017, Canadian Blood Services and Héma-Québec launched a research program dedicated to advancing donor eligibility criteria specific to men who have sex with men. In November 2019, the blood operators hosted a knowledge synthesis forum in Toronto to bring stakeholders together and see where this research stands. A report from this forum is now available on blood.ca.

Cord Blood Awareness Month: Q&A with researcher Jennie Haw

Modified on:

Jul 15, 2020

Dr. Jennie Haw is a scientist at Canadian Blood Services’ Centre for Innovation. As a sociologist, she’s interested in understanding how health and health systems relate to the individual and society. As we celebrate Cord Blood Awareness Month this July, we sat down with Dr. Haw to talk about her research and its impact on cord blood banking.

COVID-19 resources for health-care professionals

Modified on:

Jun 24, 2020

Did you know that there’s a wealth of information available on the Canadian Blood Services’ Professional Education website to help transfusion medicine health-care professionals as they navigate the COVID-19 pandemic?

Call for applications! Research funding to optimize blood product use and to train next-generation researchers

Modified on:

Jun 18, 2020

The 2020 competitions for two of the Centre for Innovation’s most important and impactful research and training funding programs are now open. The Blood Efficiency Accelerator Program supports projects that improve the use of blood products. The Postdoctoral Fellowship Program offers salary support for young investigators undertaking full-time research training in a Canadian research laboratory affiliated with Canadian Blood Services.

Canadian Blood Services scientist Alan Lazarus honoured by the Canadian transfusion community

Modified on:

May 25, 2020

The Ortho Award is presented each year at the Canadian Society for Transfusion Medicine annual meeting to honour an individual member who has provided a major service or innovation in transfusion medicine. Congratulations to Canadian Blood Services scientist Dr. Alan Lazarus who is the 2020 recipient.

Funding awarded to researchers to optimize blood product use

Modified on:

Apr 29, 2020

Congratulations to the recipients of funding recently awarded through the Centre for Innovation’s Blood Efficiency Accelerator Program (or BEAP). This funding supports innovators conducting research to improve the efficient and appropriate utilization of blood and blood products while maintaining the safety of the blood system.

Funding awarded to research and education innovators

Modified on:

Apr 1, 2020

Congratulations to the recipients of funding recently awarded through the Centre for Innovation’s BloodTechNet Award Program and Graduate Fellowship Program. This funding supports innovators in education and graduate students conducting research in the field of transfusion science.

A novel microfluidic device to aid in the search for red blood cell “super-storers”

Modified on:

Mar 25, 2020

Donated red blood cell units are a vital component of patient care, supporting patients with a wide variety of disorders. However, not all blood units are the same, and the benefit they can deliver to a patient can vary from unit to unit. Read on to learn about a unique device developed in a research laboratory at the Centre for Blood Research that can sort stored red blood cells based on their “squeezability”. This reflects how well red blood cells can squeeze their way through the circulation after a transfusion and could help identify “super-storers”.

Fibrinogen replacement products: how do they stack up against each other?

Modified on:

Mar 11, 2020

For patients who have cardiac surgery, the risk of severe blood loss is high if they have a condition called acquired hypofibrinogenemia — this means they have an undersupply of an essential blood clotting protein called fibrinogen. Doctors aim to minimize their bleeding with a fibrinogen replacement product, either cryoprecipitate or fibrinogen concentrate, to restore clotting factors to normal levels. A recent study that compared both products could have an impact on how cardiac patients are treated in Canada.

Why you won’t get COVID-19 from a blood transfusion

Modified on:

Mar 9, 2020

“There is absolutely no evidence of transfusion transmission for COVID-19, or any other coronavirus,” says Dr. Steven Drews, associate director of microbiology at Canadian Blood Services.

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