The things we do for safety – Battling bacteria (part II)


Thursday, June 08, 2017
Previous posts in our "The things we do for safety" series Battling bacteria - part I Leukoreduction In a previous post, we wrote about the donor screening criteria, the arm scrub and the diversion pouch. These are important steps in our blood collection process to limit the introduction of bacteria present on the skin or in the blood of donors into blood products. In this post, we explore other lines of defence in our battle against bacteria. The entire blood product manufacturing process is conducted in a “closed-system”. Through a clever set-up of tubings and bags, the collected blood is

Better Now: A Q&A with Dr. Graham Sher on Dr. Danielle Martin's six big ideas to improve health care for Canadians


Thursday, June 01, 2017
Dr. Danielle Martin, author of Better Now: Six Big Ideas for Improving Health Care for All Canadians spoke at Canadian Blood Services' board retreat in April 2017.

Another great success for annual educational transfusion medicine symposium


Tuesday, May 30, 2017
Since 2007, Canadian Blood Services and the Ontario Regional Blood Coordinating Network (ORBCoN) co-chair the planning and execution of an annual transfusion medicine symposium in partnership with a community hospital. The involvement of the community hospital is key in identifying topics of relevance to the transfusion issues faced by their health care professionals. The community hospital also serves as the host site for the symposium, from where the speakers present to the local audience and from where the lectures are web casted to more participants. Blood and Guts: Management of the GI

Highly ranked transfusion-related research projects get greenlight


Thursday, May 25, 2017
Canadian Blood Services to fund three highly ranked relevant meritorious applications from the CIHR Project Grant applications submitted Fall 2016.

The Ottawa Hospital announces new CIHR research grant recipients


Tuesday, May 23, 2017
Kudos to our research colleagues at The Ottawa Hospital on receiving 18 new CIHR research grants worth $10.7 million.

Science Odyssey 2017: What's in your blood?


Tuesday, May 16, 2017
It's Science Odyssey Week in Canada from May 12 to 21. Enjoy 10 days of discovery and innovation across the country. Find out where activities are taking place near you. In the spirit of Science Odyssey 2017 we worked out a little hands-on experiment to try at home or in class. Ever wonder why your blood is red? Want to get a "feel" for what your blood would look like up close? Try this... Ingredients 1/2 cup corn syrup (PLASMA) 1/2 cup red jelly beans (RED BLOOD CELLS) 1 tbsp. dry white lima beans (WHITE BLOOD CELLS) 10 lentils (PLATELETS) Directions: Mix together in glass jar or bowl. Voila

A Q&A with PhD candidate Ruqayyah Almizraq


Thursday, May 11, 2017
Ruqayyah Almizraq became interested in science because "it is like a magic window that opens up a whole new world."

Canadian transfusion community converges in Ottawa for annual meeting


Thursday, May 04, 2017
This post was written with contributions from Dr. Miguel Neves, a post-doctoral fellow in Dr. Heyu Ni’s Centre for Innovation lab at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto. “Transfusion For All Ages,” the 2017 Canadian Society for Transfusion Medicine (CSTM) annual meeting organized in partnership between CSTM, Canadian Blood Services and Héma-Québec, was recently held in Ottawa. We’ve gathered a few highlights from this annual gathering that brought together hundreds of transfusion medicine professionals. Check out the CSTM 2017 Photo Gallery. An inspiring keynote lecture by Juno award-winning

A transplant journey: Meet Centre for Innovation's Everad Tilokee


Friday, April 28, 2017
Every day in Canada, more than 4,600 people are waiting for news that a donor has been found. Everad Tilokee shares his transplant journey during National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Week.

Celebrating innovation at CSTM 2017


Thursday, April 27, 2017
Last week, the 2017 Canadian Society for Transfusion Medicine Conference “Transfusion for All Ages” rolled into Ottawa. Each year, the CSTM presents this event in partnership with Canadian Blood Services and Héma-Québec.