Exploring barriers and enablers to more inclusive source plasma donations Plasma Thursday, May 16, 2019 Pilar Castro One of fifteen MSM research projects being funded by Health Canada, the Feasibility of implementing source plasma with alternative screening criteria for men who have sex with men seeks to identify barriers and enablers that will inform how Canadian Blood Services and Héma-Québec address eligibility screening criteria in the future. Canadian Blood Services, medical director Dr. Mindy Goldman,…

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University of Alberta’s Timothy Caulfield receives James Kreppner Award Transplantation Organs and Tissues Plasma Stem Cells Transfusion Blood Tuesday, May 14, 2019 Obinna Okwelume The 2018 Canadian Blood Services’ James Kreppner Award has been awarded to Timothy Caulfield, professor and research director in the Health Law Institute at the University of Alberta.    Valued at $50,000, the award will support Professor Caulfield’s project to analyze the marketing practices of private cord blood banks, assess their claims,…

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Nominations now open for the 2019 Canadian Blood Services Lifetime Achievement Award Transplantation Organs and Tissues Plasma Stem Cells Transfusion Blood Monday, May 13, 2019 Obinna Okwelume Do you know someone who has made an outstanding contribution to the blood system in Canada?    Who can be nominated?   Recipients of the Canadian Blood Services Lifetime Achievement Award are individuals whose landmark contributions are recognized as both extraordinary and world class in the field of transfusion…

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Recordings from the CCCF 2018 Deceased Donation Scientific Symposium now available online Transplantation Organs and Tissues Wednesday, May 08, 2019 Jenny Ryan Canadian Blood Services, Trillium Gift of Life Network and the Canadian Donation and Transplantation Research Program partnered to host the Deceased Organ Donation Symposium that took place at the Critical Care Canada Forum (CCCF) on November 7 – 8, 2018. The CCCF is a national forum attended by hundreds of health care professionals, primarily physicians,…

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Expert guidance seeks to improve identification of potential organ donors Transplantation Organs and Tissues Tuesday, April 23, 2019 Jenny Ryan Publication supports the critical care community in donor identification and referral allowing more potential organ donors to save more lives, and more donor families to be enabled to fulfill their loved one’s wishes Just published in the Canadian Journal of Anesthesia: Potential organ donor identification and system accountability: expert guidance from a Canadian consensus conference A Q&A…

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Competition winner: Optimizing Cord Blood Donor Recruitment Stem Cells Thursday, April 18, 2019 Dr. Jennie Haw Dr. Jennie Haw's prize-winning entry in our Lay Science Writing Competition describes research underway to optimize cord blood donor recruitment for the national, public cord blood bank.  A Canadian Blood Services’ Cord Blood Bank (CBB) collection specialist waits outside a hospital labour and delivery room for a woman to give birth. Sometimes she can hear the newborn cry and…

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Stories worth sharing: Blood clotting factor or clot buster? Transfusion Blood Tuesday, April 16, 2019 Dr. Geraldine Walsh Brought to you in partnership with the Centre for Blood Research, this week's Stories worth sharing is focused on research into a new class of anticoagulants. Anticoagulants, or blood thinners, are medicines used to treat patients who experience unwanted or excess blood clotting. Between clotting and bleeding, there exists a delicate balance. If blood cannot clot effectively,…

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Winning science research writers announced Transplantation Organs and Tissues Plasma Stem Cells Transfusion Blood Friday, April 05, 2019 Dr. Geraldine Walsh To give our research trainees an opportunity to showcase their research, while honing their writing skills, Canadian Blood Services teamed-up with Science Borealis and the Centre for Blood Research, to launch our first-ever Lay Science Writing Competition. “It’s important for researchers to be able to explain what they do in an engaging and understandable…

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50 ways to learn more about Centre for Innovation supported research Blood Thursday, March 28, 2019 Dr. Geraldine Walsh Nothing in science has any value to society if it is not communicated —Anne Roe, The Making of a Scientist (1953) Much of the work supported by the Centre for Innovation is published as articles in scientific and medical journals. These journal articles are designed to be read and understood by other experts, so it can be challenging…

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Pathogen Inactivation – A Primer Plasma Transfusion Blood Thursday, March 08, 2018 Dr. Geraldine Walsh Tackling the gaps in blood safety Canadian Blood Services is committed to blood safety because lives depend on it. To reduce the risk of infectious disease transmission from donor to patient, donors are extensively screened for risk factors prior to their donation. Every blood donation is tested for specific infectious disease agents (pathogens) known to be transmissible through blood. These…

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