or this blog, we invited Heather Sampson, the Chair of Canadian Blood Services’ Research Ethics Board, to reflect on her experience with research ethics and what she looks forward to in this role.

Taking a look back at a few of your favourite articles of 2023 from the Research, Education, and Discovery Blog.

Every year Canadian Blood Services publishes a report highlighting its achievements in research and development. The Innovation & Portfolio Management Annual Impact Report, 2022 – 2023, is now available on blood.ca.

Canadian Blood Services, in collaboration with the Biomedical Excellence for Safer Transfusion (BEST) collaborative, conducted a study to understand plateletpheresis-associated lymphopenia, a rare condition associated with platelet donation. The study found that implementing a procedure called plasma rinseback significantly mitigated the development of lymphopenia in frequent, long-term platelet donors. Canadian Blood Services routinely uses plasma rinseback, ensuring the well-being of generous platelet donors and reducing the occurrence of lymphopenia.

In this blog, Canadian Blood Services scientists Dr. Jennie Haw and Dr. Kelly Holloway reflect on their experiences presenting at the International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT) annual conference in Gothenburg, Sweden. Read on to learn more about their social science research at this international event!

The Ontario Regional Blood Coordinating Network (ORBCoN) and Canadian Blood Services co-hosted the 18th Annual ORBCoN/Canadian Blood Services Transfusion Education Workshop and Symposium in April 2023. Tracy Cameron, ORBCoN’s North and East Ontario regional manager, summarizes highlights from the event.

Every year the Canadian Society for Transfusion Medicine’s (CSTM) Buchanan and QuidelOrtho awards recognize the dedication and innovation of two distinguished members of the transfusion medicine community. Read about the 2023 recipients in this blog!

As a new member of the Knowledge Mobilization and Strategic Alliances (KM&SA) team, I was invited to attend Canadian Blood Services Research Day on May 25, 2023, which coincides with the Canadian Society for Transfusion Medicine (CSTM) annual conference. I share how attending this opportunity helped shape my passion for Canadian Blood Services as I planned to enter my new role as a Knowledge Broker.

Preparing to attend CSTM 2023? Learn about Canadian Blood Services staff and researchers’ contributions to the scientific program and other opportunities to engage with our research and education transfusion network at the Canadian Blood Services booth!

Students from the Undergraduate Pathology Alliance at Western University posed insightful questions to researchers during an interactive visit to the research laboratory of Dr. Donald Branch, Canadian Blood Services senior scientist in February 2023.