The Canadian Blood Services Research Ethics Board evaluates research applications and acts as a resource to support Canadian Blood Services in maintaining ethical integrity in its research activities. The REB is currently seeking a new Volunteer Ethics Member to contribute to this multidisciplinary board.

Canadian Blood Services chief scientist, Dr. Dana Devine, attended her first meeting with the Biomedical Excellence for Safer Transfusion (BEST) Collaborative in 2002. This September, she’ll commence a four-year term as President of the international research organization.

Nicolas Pereyra, a graduate student at the Centre for Blood Research, placed third in the University of British Columbia’s Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition. Read on the learn about the research he presented and his perspectives on the value of good science communication.

Canadian Blood Services, in partnership with the Centre for Blood Research, just launched our first ever Research 180 Video Competition for trainees. Read on to learn more!

Recent research investigating the impact that different infusion pump types have on red blood cell quality can help inform the use of these pumps for red blood cell transfusions and create a framework for their evaluation. A new Canadian Blood Services Research Unit summarizes this work undertaken by Canadian Blood Services researchers.

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.

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.

Each year, Canadian Blood Services’ BloodTechNet award program supports innovative educational projects within the transfusion, cellular therapy, and transplantation communities. One funded project supports histocompatibility and immunogenetics laboratory (HLA lab) directors in-training to expand their learnings through educational lab rotations. Read about the experience of the first participant and the crucial role of HLA lab directors as matchmakers for patients with donated organs, tissues, stem cells and platelets.