The latest evidence on managing patients with massive hemorrhage, a major cause of potentially preventable deaths, is now available in a recently updated chapter of Canadian Blood Services’ Clinical Guide to Transfusion. According to Dr. Gwen Clarke, associate medical director of laboratory services at Canadian Blood Services and co-editor of the Guide, the chapter on massive hemorrhage and emergency transfusion is a valuable resource for staff in hospital emergency departments, operating rooms and obstetrical services as well as medical, surgical and laboratory trainees. The management of

A powerful collaboration between blood services, research institutions and industry leaders promises to bring blood transfusion therapy to new levels of precision and safety. The work is being conducted by a group called the Blood transfusion Genomics Consortium (BGC) that includes global leaders in genomics and hematology. Their ambitious two-year plan aims to establish international standards for a comprehensive and affordable DNA-based blood typing test—setting the stage for the first clinical application of this type of high-throughput technology in transfusion medicine. According to

Honouring Dr. Elianna Saidenberg’s legacy Since 1999, the Canadian Blood Services Transfusion Medicine Traineeship Award has been supporting physicians to enter the field of transfusion medicine. In 2020, the award was renamed the Elianna Saidenberg Transfusion Medicine Traineeship Award to honour Dr. Saidenberg’s contributions to Canada’s blood system. The renaming of this impactful training award to honour Dr. Saidenberg’s legacy is fitting tribute. A tireless advocate for patients, Dr. Saidenberg leaves behind a lasting legacy of compassionate care. As well as her numerous clinical

Canadian Blood Services recently published its annual Surveillance Report by the Epidemiology & Surveillance Department, a summary of monitoring efforts related to transmissible infection testing in donors, possible transfusion-transmitted infections in recipients, and new, emerging pathogens. Surveillance also includes monitoring of donor safety. Ongoing surveillance is a central part of ensuring the continued safety of the blood supply. New in the 2020 report is a section on COVID-19 and donor safety. Concerns about transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus at donation sites prompted a number of

Amie T. Kron is the clinical research coordinator in transfusion medicine at Sunnybrook Research Institute in Toronto and is a member of the University of Toronto QUEST program, a research collaborative supported by Canadian Blood Services. Dr. Jeannie Callum is a Transfusion Medicine Specialist and Hematologist at Kingston Health Sciences Center and Professor in the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine at Queen’s University. She also serves as the lead for the QUEST transfusion research program at the University of Toronto. When the World Health Organization declared a pandemic in

The importance of having a blood supply from ethnically diverse donors—one that can meet the needs of all patients—is brought sharply into focus for patients with sickle cell disease (SCD). Sickle cell disease is an inherited life-threatening condition that is more common in Black and other racialized people. People living with SCD need regular blood transfusions and, like all patients who need blood transfusions, the safest blood for them comes from donors whose blood type matches their own. But unlike other transfusion patients, patients with SCD are especially vulnerable to the risks of

This post was originally published on July 22, 2021, on the Centre for Blood Research blog. Dr. Ed Conway is a Canadian Blood Services’ adjunct scientist. Canadian Blood Services and the Centre for Innovation are proud to partner with the Centre for Blood Research to deliver training and education events. At the end of 2020, Dr. Ed Conway’s tenure as director of the Centre for Blood Research (CBR) concluded after 11 dedicated years. His directorship was characterized by boundless energy and enthusiasm, and under his leadership, the CBR has grown and flourished. To honour Dr. Conway and his

“ISBT In Focus”, which took place virtually in June 2021, offered themed sessions in two time-zones to ensure as many delegates as possible could take part, and used state-of-the-art lectures and interactive sessions. I chatted to two Canadian Blood Services delegates who attended the congress: senior scientist, Dr. Sandra Ramirez-Arcos, and postdoctoral fellow in Ramirez-Arcos’ laboratory, Dr. Sylvia Ighem Chi. Sandra Ramirez-Arcos Why do you find it important to attend the ISBT congress? The ISBT congress is a highlight for me every year, I always look forward to attending because of the

Despite the critical and increasing demand for platelets within the health-care system, they remain the most commonly discarded blood component in Canada. Why are they so frequently wasted? Improper storage outside of the hospital blood bank is the main reason that platelets get discarded before they’ve reached the end of their 7-day shelf life. The goal of a study conducted by our team at the University of Toronto QUEST research program and supported by Canadian Blood Services was to decrease platelet discards by introducing use of a Platelet Transport Bag. To understand why platelet storage