For this instalment of "meet the researcher" we caught up with Dr. William Sheffield a senior scientist with Canadian Blood Services' Centre for Innovation. How long have you been with Canadian Blood Services? I’ve been with Canadian Blood Services since before it existed! I joined our predecessor organization, the Canadian Red Cross Society, as a postdoctoral fellow, training with the legendary Dr. Mo Blajchman, in 1989, and never left. What’s your role? I’m a senior scientist within the Centre for Innovation with an active research program. I also have an administrative role as associate

“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.

It's National Blood Donor Week and we're celebrating blood donors from across the country who make a lifesaving difference to patients in need. Each of us has the right blood type to give life: ABOAB. This acronym refers to four blood groups — A, B, AB, and O. Blood type is one way we are all connected and today's post digs into the science and history behind ABO. By Amanda Maxwell In the early days of transfusion medicine, doctors gave patients all sorts of different fluids, including blood or milk from animals. Success varied, and the results were often disastrous—even when they used human

Mice are small, easy to handle and available as consistently bred individuals with little genetic variation – this makes them ideal for research. Furthermore, they share between 70 per cent and 90 per cent genetic make up, undergo many of the same life events that humans do, possess a similar anatomy (OK – mouse-shaped) and show similar physiology to us. A mouse offers a whole living organism in which to investigate disease, response to treatment, development of cancer and other basic research.

Opportunities for knowledge exchange lead to powerful meetings, new discoveries and well-deserved awards.

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

May is National Hemochromatosis Awareness Month. It gives people the opportunity to learn more about this condition and recognize the symptoms as it’s usually misdiagnosed as something else.