How research supported by Canadian Blood Services is continuously improving blood components

This blog was originally prepared by Canadian Blood Services knowledge broker Abby Wolfe, with reviews and edits provided by additional members of the Knowledge Mobilization & Strategic Alliances team and featured researchers.

Every day at Canadian Blood Services, blood donations are manufactured into the lifesaving blood components that Canadian Blood Services provides to meet patients’ and healthcare systems’ diverse needs. The Canadian Blood Services Clinical Guide to Transfusion provides information about these components for the healthcare providers that transfuse them to patients.

Behind the scenes, our interdisciplinary research & education network is continuously working to generate evidence and educational resources that can optimize how these components are collected, manufactured, stored, matched and prescribed. This blog outlines a selection of recent and ongoing research projects that are supported through our competitive funding programs for each of the blood components.

What research does Canadian Blood Services support for red blood cells (RBC)?

Senior scientist Dr. Jason Acker and his team in Edmonton focus on factors that affect RBC quality to inform how RBCs are best manufactured, stored, and matched for transfusion recipients. One current project, Hypothermic storage as an alternative to irradiation of red cell concentrates, investigates whether cold storage could replace irradiation as a method to prevent transfusion-associated graft versus host disease by inactivating any white blood cells that remain after filtration. Since irradiation poses logistical challenges – including shortening the shelf-life of RBCs – the results of this work could provide an important benefit for blood banks and inventory management. This project has been funded by Canadian Blood Services’ Blood Efficiency Accelerator Program (BEAP) award.

• Additional trainee-led research projects undertaken by members of Dr. Acker’s team also focus on ways that donor-specific factors – such as age of the individual or biological age of the collected cells – impact the quality of red blood cells collected for transfusion after storage; and how cryopreservation technologies can minimize the effects of storage on RBCs before transfusion. Both of these projects are supported by Canadian Blood Services’ Graduate Fellowship Program awards.

Research scientist Dr. Hari Maganti and his team in Ottawa are looking at ways to harness the power of stem cells and gene editing technologies to create one-time therapies for conditions like thalassemia, sickle cell disease and other hemoglobinopathies that affect an individual’s red cells. These efforts could provide an alternative to reliance on lifelong blood transfusions, potentially reducing the need for individuals who are chronically transfused to receive regular red cell transfusions.

What research activities does Canadian Blood Services support to inform optimal use of platelets?

Another of Canadian Blood Services’ BEAP awards is supporting researchers’ efforts to determine whether storing platelets at cold temperatures could provide benefits compared to those stored at room temperature (the current standard). Led by Dr. Johnathan Mack and co-investigators based at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, the Cold- versus room-temperature storage of platelets for bleeding in hematologic malignancy trials (CoVeRTS-HM Trial) project is a feasibility trial that could inform larger clinical trials in the future and improve the utilization of platelets for bleeding patients.

The ICTMG, an international collaboration of transfusion medicine experts which is supported by Canadian Blood Services, has also partnered with the Association for the Advancement of Blood and Biotherapies (AABB) to publish a new guideline of evidence-based recommendations for platelet use. This guideline provides the evidence that healthcare professionals need to transfuse platelets appropriately and is the result of months of meticulous evidence review and recommendation development work. It aims to minimize risks and protect limited supply by reducing unnecessary transfusions and support the achievement of patient-important outcomes by guiding how platelets are used.

What research activities are being undertaken related to plasma?

Dr. Bill Sheffield’s lab in Hamilton is leading research to increase knowledge about the best use of blood products, including plasma, when treating traumatic injuries causing hemorrhagic shock. One project underway is Controlling coagulopathy and bleeding in a mouse model of hemorrhagic shock, a project funded through Canadian Blood Services’ Intramural Research Grant that builds on recent clinical trials and previous work from the lab, to understand how plasma compares to other products for treating bleeding. Dr. Sheffield's expertise is also crucial to an ongoing partnership with Department of National Defense and Veterans’ Affairs Canada working towards the possibility of manufacturing dried plasma products in the future, something that would provide an immense benefit for settings where transport and storage of liquid/frozen plasma is not feasible.

Research with plasma donors by Dr. Kelly Holloway, a Canadian Blood Services scientist based in Toronto whose expertise is based in medical sociology, is building understanding of plasma donor retention and the sociology of this “liquid gold”. A recent project which earned Dr. Holloway funding from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Insight Grant, continues to advance knowledge on the pathway of plasma products from donor to recipient, and the perceptions and lived experiences of recipients of these therapeutic products.

Dr. Alan Lazarus’ team in Toronto leads innovative research focused on the safety and sustainability of plasma-derived therapies by investigating the immune mechanisms behind them and developing synthetic alternatives that could reduce reliance on donor plasma. With support from Canadian Blood Services Intramural Research Grant Program, the work undertaken in this lab shows promise in replicating the therapeutic effects of IVIg by targeting a specific receptor, Fcy receptor III, which plays a role in platelet and red cell clearance in conditions like immune thrombocytopenia.

• Further trainee-led research in Dr. Lazarus’ team that are supported by Canadian Blood Services’ Postdoctoral Fellowship Program award include the project Monovalent anti-FcγRI strategy in transfusion medicine. This work aims to enable the development of an IVIg replacement product by generating a new molecule useful for treating immune thrombocytopenia and preventing hemolytic transfusion reactions.

In what other ways is research informing blood component collection, manufacturing and utilization?

Since the incorporation of pathogen-reduction technology for platelets, this additional layer of safety has also been developed for use with plasma for transfusion manufactured by Canadian Blood Services. Researchers at netCAD, a product and process development-focused facility in Vancouver, are part of an interdisciplinary team that has undertaken the work necessary to develop and validate the manufacturing processes to prepare for implementation of these new products.

Beginning with apheresis plasma products, the netCAD team designed and tested a process to pool plasma to ensure it meets guardband specifications and take it through pathogen reduction to produce plasma products that meet our hospital customers’ requirements. Apheresis frozen plasma, psoralen-treated, has already received Health Canada approval and implementation is rolling out across the country, beginning in Fall 2025. The team is currently working to design and test a process to pathogen reduce whole blood-derived plasma for transfusion.

Additionally, members of the netCAD team have been working to help Canadian Blood Services prepare for upcoming changes in the availability of our blood collection and processing bags that are anticipated to take effect in 2030. These changes are the result of the European Union restricting the manufacturing and use of blood bags containing a plasticizer known as DEHP. By completing studies that assess the quality of red blood cell concentrates in alternate blood bag sets that do not include DEHP, the netCAD team is proactively building evidence that will help to “future proof” Canadian Blood Services’ collection and manufacturing processes.

Dr. John Blake’s research engineer role at Canadian Blood Services applies advanced operations research including network modelling techniques to optimize blood manufacturing and collection processes. His work focuses on informing strategic decisions around collection centre locations, helping Canadian Blood Services meet its collection targets and maintain a safe and sufficient blood supply now and into the future. An example of a recent project where Dr. Blake applied his expertise as a co-investigator is the BEAP funded project, A Simulation Model to Inform Best Practices for Inventory Management of Group O Negative Red Blood Cells. This project involved simulating and evaluating logistics, inventory management, and distribution networks to support adaptability and resilience in the face of changing demands.

To connect with more information about Canadian Blood Services’ research network, including our research team, publications and funded projects, visit blood.ca.

Canadian Blood Services – Driving world-class innovation 

Through discovery, development and applied research, Canadian Blood Services drives world-class innovation in blood transfusion, cellular therapy and transplantation—bringing clarity and insight to an increasingly complex healthcare future. Our dedicated research team and extended network of partners engage in exploratory and applied research to create new knowledge, inform and enhance best practices, contribute to the development of new services and technologies, and build capacity through training and collaboration. Find out more about our research impact. 

The opinions reflected in this post are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Canadian Blood Services nor do they reflect the views of Health Canada or any other funding agency.