When an organ donation opportunity from a patient and their family is missed, there are life-threatening consequences for people waiting for a transplant. In 2018 alone, 223 Canadians died waiting for an organ transplant. Due to missed identification and referral, more than 350 potential deceased organ donation opportunities may have been overlooked between 2016-2018. These findings are described in the new study Preventable Harm in the Canadian Donation and Transplantation System: a descriptive study of missed organ donor identification and referral in the Canadian Journal of Anesthesia, led

Dr. Donald Branch, Canadian Blood Services senior scientist, has received four awards from the Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies (AABB) but his most recent honour as a recipient of the Dale A. Smith Memorial Award is the first time that comic book superheroes have played a part. Antibodies are proteins that are part of the body’s immune response, intended to offer protection from undesirable substances such as viruses and bacteria. If the body inadvertently creates autoantibodies that react toward its own proteins instead of attacking foreign materials, these

Elyn Rowe, a PhD student with Dr. Dana Devine at CBR was awarded first prize in Canadian Blood Services’ Research 180 Video Competition for creating an original video that showcases her research (which she describes in this blog below). Check out her winning 3-minute video (embedded video). To expand the donor pool and promote inclusivity, Canadian Blood Services has made strides to expand donor eligibility criteria. Some notable changes have been removing the upper age limit restriction, and the inclusion of most individuals with diabetes. However, since blood products are not as standardized