Dr. Niamh Caffrey, an epidemiologist in Innovation and Portfolio Management’s donation policy and studies group, shares her experience attending this year’s Canadian Society for Transfusion Medicine (CSTM) annual meeting.

Two chapters in Canadian Blood Services’ Clinical Guide to Transfusion were recently updated to provide health-care providers with the latest guidance on treating patients with hemostatic disorders and hereditary angioedema. Both chapter updates, available on Canadian Blood Services’ professional education website, were completed by a team of experts led by Dr. Man-Chiu Poon, emeritus professor of medicine, pediatrics and oncology at the University of Calgary, Cumming School of Medicine.

In late April 2022, Canadian Blood Services’ research-informed request to remove eligibility criteria specific to men who have sex with men and instead use sexual behaviour-based screening for all donors was approved by Health Canada. Read on to learn about two published studies from Canadian Blood Services that contributed to the body of evidence supporting this change.

We teamed up with Science Borealis and the Centre for Blood Research to deliver the 2021-2022 Canadian Blood Services Lay Science Writing Competition. In a recently published blog post, Science Borealis interviewed the winner of that competition, Alexandra Witt, to learn about her creative process and how she crafted a winning piece of writing.

The 11th annual Centre for Blood Research Norman Bethune Symposium was held on April 6, 2022. With a focus on recent research advances in bleeding and thrombosis, the symposium engages scientists and clinicians at all levels of training.

In this week’s post, three Master’s students describe how their research interviewing young adults about blood donation policies helped them understand the real value of qualitative research. Their insights highlight the value of this type of research to inform Canadian Blood Services as the organization looks to evolve donor screening approaches and engage more young people - the blood donors of the future.

Read graduate student Jaya Rastogi’s entry to this year’s “Science behind the scenes” Lay Science Writing Competition. In an entry that identified high school students as the audience, Jaya describes their research to understand the perspectives of young adults on sex and gender questions asked during blood donor screening. The entry was awarded third place in this year’s competition.

Read undergraduate student Parth Patel’s entry to this year’s “Science behind the scenes” Lay Science Writing Competition. His heartfelt piece, which was targeted towards a public audience and ultimately earned him second place in the competition, pays homage to what he describes as research’s greatest tools – his lab mates and colleagues.

Consider submitting a nomination for this prestigious award that recognizes individuals whose landmark contributions are recognized as both extraordinary and world class in the field of transfusion or transplantation medicine, stem cell or cord blood research in Canada and/or abroad. You have until May 16, 2022 to get your nominations in!

Read the entry that was awarded first place in this year’s “Science behind the scenes” Lay Science Writing Competition! Congratulations to the winner, graduate student Alexandra Witt. She identified high school students as her target audience and wrote an engaging piece that sheds light on the questions scientists ask when developing a new drug.