Hospital Newsletter
In this issue
Canadian Blood Services turns 25!
This bear attack survivor knows what he’d say to his blood donors
Applications for the 2023 BloodTechNet Award are now open
HLA/HPA Selected Platelets Pre & Post Platelet Counts and Disposition Data, Why Is It Important?
Canadian Blood Services turns 25!
This fall marks 25 years since Canadian Blood Services was founded to manage the national blood system (outside of Quebec) and deliver safe and reliable lifesaving products and services to patients across Canada.
Our organization was established following the tainted blood crisis. This tragic period in Canada’s history has profoundly shaped our commitment to maintaining the rigorous quality standards essential to protect the health of patients who use our products and services.
For 25 years we have worked diligently to earn the trust of Canadians. We take our responsibility seriously and are guided by our operational pillars to continually safeguard, engage, and improve our processes, practices, and systems.
We are committed to helping every patient, matching every need, and serving every Canadian. But we don’t do this important work alone. We are the connection between donors and patients, medical researchers, and healthcare professionals like you. Together, we are Canada’s Lifeline.
It is as essential today as it was the day we were founded – what we do matters. Blood and plasma are needed daily and thousands of patients across the country need stem cell and organ and tissue transplants. Together, with the generosity of donors and the support of our hospital partners, we are working tirelessly to provide these life essentials.
Thank you for being a part of our story. Celebrate with us by sharing why you’ve committed to being a part of Canada’s Lifeline and help spread the word about the impact of donors, registrants and healthcare professionals with your social media network. Tag us @CanadasLifeline and re-share posts from our account to help inspire others.
This bear attack survivor knows what he’d say to his blood donors
After surviving a grizzly bear attack four years ago, Colin Dowler had hoped to give back by donating blood. Instead, after learning earlier this year that he’s ineligible, he’s sharing his incredible story to inspire others to do it.
O-negative blood donors have a starring role in that story, as their donations were on board the air ambulance that came to Colin’s aid on July 29, 2019. The helicopter touched down at the logging camp where Colin had “crash-landed” his mountain bike about 70 minutes prior, in a remote area of B.C. northwest of Powell River. After the grizzly attack, he had somehow pedaled seven kilometres to get there, with just one functioning leg and massive injuries to his torso. The bear had already begun eating him alive when he escaped.
Conscious throughout, Colin vividly recalls the sound of the arriving helicopter — music to his ears — and the conversation with one of the paramedics.
“I remember him telling me, ‘You’re lucky, we’ve only just recently been able to transfuse blood on the scene. Without this blood, your odds of surviving the trip back to the hospital would be slim,’” recalls Colin, 49. “And I remember thinking, ‘Man, I’m going to live. Because you wouldn’t tell a dying man that.’”
He’ll never know who donated those crucial O-negative red blood cells, which stabilized him for the trip to Vancouver General Hospital. They could have been neighbours in B.C. or blood donors across the country. Given the 42-day shelf life of red blood cells, they would have donated blood in late June or sometime in July. Maybe they cut short a barbecue or a trip to the beach to help a stranger.
Whoever they are, Colin is so grateful. And he knows exactly what he’d say if he could meet them.
“I’d tell them thank you. And I’d offer to take them fishing.”
Get the full story here.
Applications for the 2023 BloodTechNet Award are now open
Canadian Blood Services’ 2023 BloodTechNet Award Program competition is now open. The BloodTechNet Award Program supports the development of educational tools and resources for health professionals in the transfusion, cellular therapy, and transplantation communities in Canada.
The program guidelines and application form can be found on www.blood.ca. The deadline for applications is November 15, 2023.
To learn about completed BloodTechNet projects, visit our professional education website.
Please direct any inquiries you may have to centreforinnovation@blood.ca
To receive updates on our research and education activities, including publications, events and available funding opportunities, subscribe to our monthly Research and Education Round Up Newsletter.
HLA/HPA Selected Platelets Pre & Post Platelet Counts and Disposition Data, Why Is It Important?
Centralization of the collection and management of products for patient’s dependent on HLA/HPA selected platelets took place in 2017 at Canadian Blood Services. The national approach to the supply of these special products to HLA/HPA alloimmunized patients has vastly improved since the program was established.
An HLA/HPA Selected Platelet Report form is sent every week with the hospital’s anticipated delivery schedule of HLA/HPA selected platelets for their patients. This form is used to document the product disposition and patient’s pre and post platelet count if available.
What does Canadian Blood Services do with this information?
- The data is reviewed by a Transfusion Medicine Nurse Specialist (TMNS)
- They look for patterns that would indicate if one donor is better suited or not to that patient over others. This allows us to curate the best list of donors for the patient.
- The data is compiled and monitored to help us anticipate the patient’s changing needs.
- Based on patient usage and platelet counts when available, the TMNS will contact the hospital and review the product order if needed.
- The data collected is used to broadly improve the understanding and utility of HLA/HPA selected platelets and the HLA/HPA alloimmunized patient.
The current return rate for this report from our hospital customers is approximately 40%. Completion of the form is not mandatory but is strongly recommended. Those hospital customers who don’t send the information back to Canadian Blood Services won’t benefit from services such as:
- Patient specific curated donor list based on best responses
- Monitoring of usage and case review reminders
- Reduced product wastage
- Overall potential improved patient outcomes
The HLA/HPA Selected Platelet program is happy to work with our hospital customers to find ways to make the collection of this data easier. We understand that resources are limited, so we are always interested in exploring other options for submitting the information to improve our service.
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
Every year, Canadian Blood Services observes the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Sept. 30 to honour the survivors of residential schools and the children who never made it home, as well as their families and their communities.
The day provides an opportunity to reflect on the tragic history of residential schools and contemporary Indigenous issues and for employees to engage in reconciliation activities within our workplace and our communities.
The majority of Canadian Blood Services donor centres will remain open on Sept. 30 and blood and stem cell collections will continue across the country. Plasma donor centres will be closed on this date. Flags will also be lowered to half-mast at Canadian Blood Services facilities across the country.
We acknowledge that the work to mend the harm and intergenerational trauma experienced by Indigenous communities across the country extends far beyond one federal statutory day. Our Reconciliation Action Plan is a roadmap for how Canadian Blood Services intends to collaborate with Indigenous employees, donors, registrants, partners, stakeholders and communities moving forward. It provides a framework for translating our reconciliation commitments into meaningful actions that will advance the health of First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples and communities.
Our new resources for health-care professionals
Canadian Blood Services develops resources on transfusion medicine and publishes them on our professional education website, a trusted source of information for health-care professionals across the country.
Visit https://profedu.blood.ca/en/transfusion to check out our latest resources:
This updated publication summarizes adverse transfusion reactions data reported to Canadian Blood Services over the past five fiscal years and now includes data from 2022–23. Only adverse transfusion reactions that are reportable, or were initially deemed to be reportable, to Health Canada by Canadian Blood Services as determined by the Blood Regulations, are included.
The 2022 edition of our annual surveillance report describes surveillance of transmissible blood-borne infections and emerging threats of concern. High quality and timely surveillance are central to the safety of the blood supply; this includes monitoring and testing for transmissible disease markers in blood and investigating any reports of possible transfusion transmission, as well as horizon scanning for any new pathogens that may pose a risk. Non-infectious surveillance of aspects of donor health and safety as well as diagnostic services are also included.
Whether granulocyte transfusion improves survival in patients with invasive infections remains unresolved. This new Clinical Guide to Transfusion chapter provides an overview of granulocyte concentrates, including clinical evidence, indications, and recent innovations in manufacturing.
This FAQ summarizes the ordering process for granulocyte concentrates, includes links to the ordering forms and provides information on delivery, storage and reporting requirements. Granulocyte concentrates are manufactured and distributed by Héma-Québec.
The BloodTechNet Award Program facilitates the development of innovative educational resources that support the transfusion, cellular therapy and transplantation communities in Canada. Explore our updated page highlighting the educational tools, resources and other deliverables from completed BloodTechNet projects.