Communicating science is an important part of the job for anyone involved in clinical research, whether it takes place face-to-face with the patient, a donor or the wider scientific community. Unfortunately, outreach like this can seem a daunting prospect to the lab scientist and practitioner; it is often easier to hide behind the bench or the stethoscope.

Throughout pregnancy, the umbilical cord nourishes the unborn baby with blood rich in nutrients and oxygen. The blood that remains in the cord and placenta after birth is full of stem cells. These cells are like the blood-forming stem cells that can be collected from the bone marrow or circulating blood of adults. Transplantation with blood-forming stem cells can help save the lives of people with blood cancers or diseases like aplastic anemia. For these transplants to be successful, the donor must be very carefully matched with the recipient. Even with a registry of diverse donors like

Did you know that Canadian Blood Services directly funds innovative research?

A new and improved site to learn, share and advance in the fields of transfusion and transplantation medicine After much hard work, collaboration and consultation, we're pleased to announce the launch of a new and improved online educational platform for health-care professionals. Canadian Blood Services has a mandate to strengthen and support professional development in the fields of transfusion and transplantation science and medicine to ultimately benefit patients while ensuring donor safety. We are also committed to promoting awareness and education about organ and tissue donation and

On June 9, The Ottawa Hospital announced an exciting breakthrough treatment for some MS patients. The clinical trial , supported by our autologous stem cell program, was just published in The Lancet and has received world-wide media attention.

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

On that front, Canada is doing a very good job. Dr. David Allan, medical director for Canadian Blood Services’ Cord Blood Bank and OneMatch Stem Cell and Marrow Network, reports that more than 1,000 units of cord blood are now available in the public Cord Blood Bank.

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.

Led by The Ottawa Hospital, a groundbreaking trial called Cellular Immunotherapy for Septic Shock is testing the idea that mesenchymal stem cells may be able to help control the body’s immune system to reduce injury and promote healing, while improving its ability to fight infection.

A research, education. and discovery blog Did you know that we do research? Quite a lot of it, in fact. Last year, our research teams, working in our labs across Canada, published 250+ scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals and presented 200+ posters or talks at major national and international conferences. Their discoveries have contributed to major advances in transfusion and transplantation medicine. It’s time we told these stories and introduced you to the fascinating people and places behind our research in blood science and transfusion medicine, cellular therapies (in particular