As a member of the Alliance of Blood Operators, Canadian Blood Services is fortunate to engage with dedicated and forward-facing colleagues from around the world. This spotlight interview was published in our internal newsletter and we have graciously been given permission to repost on this blog.

When a significant change to donor eligibility occurs, like the recent eligibility changes related to hemoglobin levels and iron health, we need to understand in advance the impact it could have on blood collections. Our in-house engineer, John Blake, did some nifty number crunching and estimated that the change would mean about 35,000 fewer donations collected in a year — hence the push for new donors to step forward to help fill the gap.

Through this program, partner organizations provide fellowship opportunities for PhD graduates – learning opportunities that can accelerate their professional growth and advance career readiness. Canadian Blood Services is pleased to participate in this program.

Platelets are essential for the formation of blood clots to stop bleeding. However, if platelets are activated when they’re not supposed to be, a clot can form within a blood vessel, blocking blood flow. These clots can cause medical emergencies such as heart attacks and strokes, which are major causes of illness and death worldwide. Current therapies to treat and prevent blood clot formation are associated with potentially dangerous bleeding side effects. Researchers at Canadian Blood Services are working on developing new drugs that don’t have these side effects but still provide effective

Dr. Hume, a professor at the University of Montreal and former executive medical director for Canadian Blood Services, works six months every year as a pediatric hematologist at the Mulago National Referral Hospital in Uganda.

A searchable database showcasing our funded research projects has just been launched on blood.ca. Together with our publications database, research highlights, links to this blog, research units and other news, you’ll discover a comprehensive knowledge hub for the transfusion and transplantation community.

A previous post in our "The things we do for safety" series explores leukoreduction - or how white blood cells or leukocytes get filtered out of blood products to reduce the risk of transfusion-related reactions. Battling bacteria (part 1) Bacteria can be found pretty much everywhere and while some contribute to our wellness others can cause serious harm, especially if transfused to a patient whose health is already compromised. Over the years, blood operators have implemented a variety of measures to limit the bacterial contamination of blood components. In this series on “Battling bacteria”

A two-day meeting held January 2017 brought together national and international stakeholders to identify research priorities for closing knowledge gaps that impact donor eligibility for men who have sex with men.

“ From the perspective of the blood system, our role I believe is to facilitate research that is required to provide patients with the safest and most effective blood and blood products.”

The Stem Cell Club is just one of many successful and impactful projects funded by the BloodTechNet competition. Do you work in transfusion or transplantation medicine? Got a bright idea on how to share knowledge? Apply for funding to bring it to life.