To ensure ethical integrity is maintained in research activities, Canadian Blood Services’ independent Research Ethics Board (REB) reviews all research applications involving human participants that are intended to be conducted by, or on behalf of, Canadian Blood Services. We joined Heather Sampson, the new Chair of the Canadian Blood Services Research Ethics Board (REB), in conversation about her experience with research ethics and what she looks forward to in this role. Looking back 1. Can you tell us a bit about how your career journey brought you to Canadian Blood Services?   When I was

Another year, another set of research, education, and discovery blogs. Here’s the top viewed articles of 2023: 5. Investigating the impact of age and diabetic status on blood product characteristics 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 as other types of treatments and most bag-to-bag differences are likely linked to the donor

Every year Canadian Blood Services publishes a report highlighting its achievements in research and development. By integrating research and development into the Canadian blood system, Canadian Blood Services, through its Innovation & Portfolio Management team, delivers on the principles set out by Justice Horace Krever in the Royal Commission report that led to the founding of Canadian Blood Services more than 25 years ago. Among the remarkable successes highlighted in this year’s report, Integrating Research & Development into the Canadian Blood System, are eight impact case studies. Each

Our partnership with the Centre for Blood Research (CBR) at the University of British Columbia (UBC) is helping to train the next generation of researchers in transfusion science. This blog post highlights just some of the achievements in education, training or knowledge mobilization accomplished by CBR trainees. This is a repost of a blog written by CBR summer student alumni Paniz Ghavimi and Rayan Ramadan that originally appeared on the Centre for Blood Research blog in October 2023. It’s that time of the year! 23 summer students start to roam the CBR hallways, doing everything from lab

Canadian Blood Services works to provide a steady supply of blood and blood products for Canadian patients in need. Frequent blood and platelet donors have played a significant role in sustaining this supply. As such, Canadian Blood Services, along with other Canadian and international blood operators, conduct research on donation processes and donor wellness, such as a recent study on plateletpheresis-associated lymphopenia. A recent study was conducted by the Biomedical Excellence for Safer Transfusion (BEST) collaborative, which includes Canadian Blood Services researchers: Senior Scientist