Transfusion medicine

Canadian Blood Services supports best practices in transfusion medicine through the development of educational resources. Written by subject-matter experts from across Canada, our transfusion medicine resources support clinical practice and help health-care professionals stay current in an ever-changing field.

If you are a health-care professional working in transfusion medicine and have a comment or suggestions for new resources, please get in touch.

Aditi Khandelwal
Transfusion Medicine Specialist and Hematologist

Apheresis frozen plasma, psoralen-treated

Apheresis frozen plasma, psoralen-treated is a pathogen-reduced human plasma for transfusion available in Canada beginning September 2025. The component is pathogen reduced using psoralen treatment (INTERCEPT) technology. This publication is a brief guide to apheresis frozen plasma, psoralen-treated, describing the manufacturing, characteristics, clinical use, and alternatives to this component.

FAQ: Whole blood, leukocytes reduced (LrWB) at Canadian Blood Services

Canadian Blood Services began producing whole blood, leukocytes reduced (LrWB) in November 2022. Initially restricted for use by the Canadian Armed Forces, access to LrWB was expanded to non-military use in the context of clinical trials in January 2025. Read our FAQ to find out more about LrWB.

Summary of adverse transfusion reactions 2020-2025

According to Blood Regulations, hospitals are required to report adverse transfusion reactions following a transfusion to Canadian Blood Services if the reaction is thought to be caused by a blood component deficiency affecting its safety, and is attributable to a regulated activity at Canadian Blood Services (e.g., donor selection, blood collection, manufacturing).

Latest updates from the National Advisory Committee on Blood and Blood Products (as of July 18, 2025)

New

NAC & NEBMC Meeting Observation:
- NAC & NEBMC Meeting Observation: Trainee Observer Permission Guidance, Expectations & Request Form
- NAC Confidentiality Agreement: Meeting Observers and Ad Hoc Attendees

Updated

Upcoming events

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Sep 3
2:00 pm | Virtual

Fostering Equity Through Strategic Inclusive Outreach (25EL-571)

This eCast will provide essential insights into addressing unconscious bias and developing inclusive strategies for diverse community engagement. Attendees will gain a comprehensive understanding of how hidden biases can shape decision-making, influence team dynamics, and affect interactions with

Transfusion

Sep 9
12:00 pm | Toronto/Virtual

Topic teaching: TBA

Presented by Dr. Teresa Skelton Investigator and staff anesthesiologist BC Children's Hospital Learning objectives TBA Note: The session is a self-approved group learning activity (Section 1) as defined by the Maintenance of Certification program of The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of

Transfusion

Sep 13
7:45 am | Oakville

GHEST 2025

Save the date for GHEST 2025, taking place September 13 at the Oakville Conference Centre in Oakville, Ontario. The mission of GHEST is to promote education, research and best practices in transfusion medicine throughout the Golden Horseshoe region. Registration Registration details, including the

Transfusion

Recent R.E.D. blogs

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Canadian Blood Services’ laboratory featured in magazine article for medical laboratory professionals

Canadian Blood Services’ newly announced Surveillance and Discovery Laboratory (SDL) has been selected as a feature in the Medical Laboratory Professionals Association of Ontario (MLPAO) magazine, ADVOCATE. Medical laboratory professionals are integral to many aspects of Canadian Blood Services’ work, supporting the vein-to-vein continuum of Canada’s Biological Lifeline. The MLPAO’s Fall edition aims to focus on sharing highly technical, research-related stories from the field. It is distributed directly to 4,200 medical laboratory professionals including both medical laboratory technologists

Post date: August 27, 2025

Transfusion

Canadian Blood Services' laboratory awarded Thalassemia Foundation of Canada research grant

This blog was prepared by Canadian Blood Services programs and reporting coordinator Dr. Emily Freeman, with edits and reviews provided by additional members of the Knowledge Mobilization & Strategic Alliances and Stakeholder Engagement teams. The Thalassemia Foundation of Canada is a patient organization with a mission to support research, treatment, public awareness and patient support to improve the lives of individuals living with thalassemia. The Thalassemia Foundation of Canada is a long-standing member of Canadian Blood Services stakeholder community. Recently, their medical advisory

Post date: August 21, 2025

Transfusion

New research publications: July 2025

Each month, our R.E.D. blog showcases the activities of our research and education network and the innovation and collaboration that drives our scientific community forward. Included in these activities are the peer-reviewed publications in academic journals that are a main avenue for researchers to share their scientific findings. With a focus on methodology and a rigorous review process prior to publication, these publications are recognized as credible and reliable sources of scientific information. This blog provides an overview of the latest research publications that have been authored

Post date: August 1, 2025

Organs and tissues

Transfusion

Transfusion medicine

Apheresis frozen plasma, psoralen-treated

FAQ: Whole blood, leukocytes reduced (LrWB) at Canadian Blood Services

Summary of adverse transfusion reactions 2020-2025

Fostering Equity Through Strategic Inclusive Outreach (25EL-571)

Topic teaching: TBA

GHEST 2025

Canadian Blood Services’ laboratory featured in magazine article for medical laboratory professionals

Canadian Blood Services&#039; laboratory awarded Thalassemia Foundation of Canada research grant

New research publications: July 2025

Canadian Blood Services' laboratory awarded Thalassemia Foundation of Canada research grant