Transfusion medicine

Canadian Blood Services supports best practices in transfusion medicine through the development of educational resources. Written by subject-matter experts from across Canada, our transfusion medicine resources support clinical practice and help health-care professionals stay current in an ever-changing field.

If you are a health-care professional working in transfusion medicine and have a comment or suggestions for new resources, please get in touch.

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A smiling woman with dark hair wearing a black shirt.

Aditi Khandelwal
Transfusion Medicine Specialist and Hematologist

Whether granulocyte transfusion improves survival in patients with invasive infections remains unresolved. This new Clinical Guide to Transfusion chapter provides an overview of granulocyte concentrates, including clinical evidence, indications, and recent innovations in manufacturing.
Canadian Blood Services performs extended red cell antigen genotyping at the National Immunohematology Reference Laboratory (NIRL) using Grifols’ ID CORE XT assay. A new course (published January 2024) on interpreting these genotyping reports is now available. The course supports healthcare providers in understanding components of the red cell antigen genotyping report and the significance of the results.
Immunoglobulin (Ig) products are manufactured from large volumes of donated plasma. Ig products may be used as replacement therapy for immunodeficient patients or as immunomodulatory therapy for autoimmune and alloimmune disorders. Ig products include intravenous Ig (IVIg), subcutaneous Ig (SCIg), and hyperimmune globulins, including RhD Ig (RhIg), hepatits B immunoglobulin and others.
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Announcement

New online Visual Inspection Tool now available for all personnel who handle blood components for transfusion

The Visual Inspection Tool is a bench-level tool that depicts variations in the typical appearance of blood components. It includes photos and descriptions of conditions and characteristics that may be associated with a change in the appearance of red blood cells, platelets, plasma and cryoprecipitate.

This Tool is designed to be used in conjunction with other required protocols or work instructions for the visual inspection of blood components and replaces the Visual Assessment Guide. The Visual Inspection Tool may be viewed on a desktop or mobile device (not intended for printing). French translation of the new VIT is underway.