Research. Education. Discovery.

The Canadian Blood Services Centre for Innovation has been doing research to develop a “new” product for transfusion that some might find surprising: whole blood! Yes, the fluid that is originally drawn from a donor. To learn why, we need to delve into the history of blood transfusion and innovation over the past century.

The Centre for Innovation supports research, innovation and education in key areas in blood, plasma, stem cells, and organs and tissues. This support is in part through the many competitive funding programs centre administers. These are open to Canadian researchers interested in pursuing projects focused on Canadian Blood Services priorities. Read on to learn about the recent recipients of funding through our Postdoctoral Fellowship Program and our Blood Efficiency Accelerator Award Program.

The AABB Annual Meeting is a must-attend event for those in the fields of transfusion medicine and cellular therapies. AABB 2019 took place last month in San Antonio, Texas. Canadian Blood Services trainees Dr. Narges Hadjesfandiari and Dr. Olga Mykhailova were there and report back on meeting highlights.

Last month, Dr. Donald Branch, a scientist at Canadian Blood Services’ Centre for Innovation and professor at the University of Toronto, received a prestigious international award honouring his more than 40 years of major contributions to transfusion medicine and hematology.

Drinking the blood of the young, and thereby somehow capturing their youth, is a common literary trope. The ghoulish notion speaks to our cultural fascination with youth, but also to our dread of aging. There’s no evidence-based therapy using the blood of young people to counteract or prevent the...

The 2019 Canadian Transplant Summit took place Oct. 15-19 in iconic Banff, Alta. This annual event is a unique opportunity to bring together medical professionals, scientists, patients and stakeholders of all interests in organ donation and transplantation from across Canada.