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.

Aditi Khandelwal
Transfusion Medicine Specialist and Hematologist

Solvent detergent (S/D) treated plasma (Octaplasma)

Previous to March 27, 2023, Octaplasma, pathogen-reduced plasma manufactured by Octapharma, could be ordered through Canadian Blood Services for select patients. It is now available to order for routine use in adult and pediatric patients. This publication provides a summary of the published literature on Octaplasma and provides additional resources to support hospitals in planning for its implementation.

FAQ: Information for health professionals on apheresis platelet psoralen-treated (APPT) and untreated apheresis platelet in PAS-E

This FAQ has been developed to assist hospitals in implementing apheresis platelet psoralen-treated (APPT) and untreated apheresis platelet in PAS-E. These components are being implemented in Ottawa on June 12, 2023, with a national implementation to follow.

The importance of iron for whole blood donors: a Canadian perspective

This updated article examines the effect of blood donation on donor iron levels and the steps taken by Canadian Blood Services to protect the health of its donors. In 2023, Canadian Blood Services started ferritin testing in select frequent donors at the highest risk of iron deficiency.

Canadian health-care providers: Share your perspectives on whole blood, leukocytes reduced (LrWB)

An online survey by the National Advisory Committee on Blood and Blood Products is gathering perspectives from Canadian health-care providers on the non-military use of whole blood, leukocytes reduced (LrWB).

Health-care providers who are practicing in Canada are invited to complete the online survey and read our FAQ for more information on LrWB at Canadian Blood Services.

Upcoming events

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Sep 27
2:00 pm | Virtual

Immunohematology boot camp: Titer method and clinical application

Antibody titrations can be helpful in-patient management in the setting of pregnancy, hematopoietic transplant, solid organ transplant, and in the work-up of complex antibody cases. Suzanne Davisson will focus on lab techniques for titrations and different applications of titrations, such as

Transfusion

Sep 28
12:00 pm | Virtual

Reducing risk from transfusion in patients with sickle cell disease: Indications for transfusion/avoidance of transfusion and alternatives to transfusion

Presented by Dr. Jacob Pendergrast, MD, FRCPC Associate Professor, University of Toronto Medical Director, University Health Network Blood Transfusion Science Dr. Kevin H.M. Kuo, MD, MSc, FRCPC Clinician-Investigator and Staff Hematologist Red Blood Cell Disorders Program, Division of Medical

Transfusion

Sep 29
9:00 am | Hamilton/Virtual

19th Annual McMaster Hematology and Thromboembolism Update

McMaster University, Continuing Professional Development is pleased to present this hybrid CPD conference. The target audience for this event includes subspecialists, general internists, hospitalists, community physicians, primary care practitioners, residents, physician assistants, nurse

Transfusion

Recent R.E.D. blogs

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Canadian Blood Services social scientists attend ISBT 2023

In this blog, Canadian Blood Services scientists Dr. Jennie Haw and Dr. Kelly Holloway reflect on their experiences presenting at the International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT) annual conference in Gothenburg, Sweden. Read on to learn more about their social science research at this international event! At Canadian Blood Services, we are part of the Donation Policy and Studies team led by medical director of donor and clinical services, Dr. Mindy Goldman. As social scientists working in the transfusion medicine field, we study the behaviours of donors and nondonors, as well as the

Post date: September 7, 2023

Transfusion

20th anniversary celebration at the Centre for Blood Research (CBR): commemorating two decades of historical milestones and outstanding achievements

Our partnership with the Centre for Blood Research (CBR) at the University of British Columbia is helping to train the next generation of researchers in transfusion science. This blog post highlights just some of the achievements in education, training or knowledge mobilization accomplished by CBR trainees. This is an edited repost of a blog written by John Perrier, a graduate student in the Pryzdial Lab at CBR, that originally appeared on the Centre for Blood Research blog in August 2023. The original post was edited by Dr. Emily Park, a postdoctoral fellow (Ma Lab), and Alexandra Witt, a

Post date: August 22, 2023

Transfusion

Meet the Researcher: Dr. Michael Sutherland

Our partnership with the Centre for Blood Research (CBR) at the University of British Columbia (UBC) is helping to train the next generation of researchers in transfusion science. This blog post highlights just some of the achievements in education, training or knowledge mobilization accomplished by CBR trainees. This is an edited repost of a “Meet the Researcher” interview that originally appeared on the Centre for Blood Research blog in June 2023. The original post was written by Dr. Emily Park, Postdoctoral Fellow (Ma Lab) and edited by Sarah Bowers, PhD Candidate (Brown Lab) at the Centre

Post date: July 20, 2023

Transfusion