“It’s a Canadian tradition to push blood as far forward as possible in the safest possible way.” There’s a long, rich history of military blood transfusion and Canadians have been at the front and centre of this field since WWI. Getting blood where it’s most needed is a challenge at the best of times, but getting it to soldiers injured in combat is an extraordinary feat. The Canadian Forces Health Services (Defence Research Development Canada) in collaboration with Canadian Blood Services have conducted some exciting research over the past decade. Their work is aimed at pushing blood as far

The 2016 Transfusion Science Education Course – a Canadian Blood Services, Grifols partnership.

While blood transfusion is safer now than ever before, scientists continue to look for ways to reduce risk and ensure the healthiest possible outcomes for patients. A unique collaboration between Canadian Blood Services, The Ottawa Hospital and Université Laval has led to some interesting and somewhat unexpected findings that open the door to new areas of research in transfusion medicine. Press release: Researchers find unexpected association between younger donor age, female sex and transfusion outcomes Although the blood collection and red blood cell preparation processes are standardized

Dr. Sheila O’Brien knows the answer. She is the associate director, epidemiology and surveillance, working at Canadian Blood Services head office in Ottawa. Understanding and minimizing the infectious risks associated with blood transfusion is what she does each and every day.

Ms. Tong is a Canadian Blood Services' graduate fellowship program award recipient working with Dr. Don Branch in his Centre for Innovation lab in Toronto. She has also been selected to participate in a highly competitive Canadian Institutes for Health Sciences (CIHR) Travel Award Summer Program in Taiwan. We took some time to ask Ms. Tong a few questions about her research, this prestigious award and her upcoming travels. A Q&A with Ms. Tik Nga (Cindy) Tong Can you tell us a bit about yourself? I was born in Hong Kong and my family moved to Vancouver, BC when I was 8. My interest in science

Congratulations to Mike Halpenny and team for their award-winning presentation at CBMTG 2016.

Ten days of discovery Science Odyssey is a 10-day collaborative event geared to engage and inspire Canadians of all ages with science, technology and engineering and mathematics. It brings together a series of fun activities across the country from Friday, May 6 to Sunday, May 15, 2016. In celebration of 10 days of science, discover 10 interesting facts about blood and blood stem cells. Also get inspired by a few words of wisdom from Dr. Sandra Ramirez, a development scientist at Canadian Blood Services’ Centre for Innovation. #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9 #10 Dr. Sandra Ramirez wanted to know

Dr. Pineault and his team are working on a cellular therapy to improve engraftment (the process through which new blood-forming cells start to develop in the patient) following cord blood stem cell transplantation.

Researchers show that some methods used in the manufacturing of red blood cell units may be less damaging to the cells, which could reduce adverse reactions in transfusion recipients. This work may impact the future of how blood is collected in North America and around the world.

"Implementing Choosing Wisely recommendations for transfusion medicine" is the 11th Annual Transfusion Medicine Education Videoconference taking place April 13, 2016. Registration is open!