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

Granulocyte transfusion therapy

Whether granulocyte transfusion improves survival in patients with invasive infections remains unresolved. This new Clinical Guide to Transfusion chapter provides an overview of granulocyte concentrates, including clinical evidence, indications, and recent innovations in manufacturing.

Red cell antigen genotyping reports

Canadian Blood Services performs extended red cell antigen genotyping at the National Immunohematology Reference Laboratory (NIRL) using Grifols’ ID CORE XT assay. A new course (published January 2024) on interpreting these genotyping reports is now available. The course supports healthcare providers in understanding components of the red cell antigen genotyping report and the significance of the results.

Immunoglobulin products

Immunoglobulin (Ig) products are manufactured from large volumes of donated plasma. Ig products may be used as replacement therapy for immunodeficient patients or as immunomodulatory therapy for autoimmune and alloimmune disorders. Ig products include intravenous Ig (IVIg), subcutaneous Ig (SCIg), and hyperimmune globulins, including RhD Ig (RhIg), hepatits B immunoglobulin and others.

New Practice Eligibility Route for the Area of Focused Competence (PER-AFC) in Transfusion Medicine

The Royal College’s new Practice Eligibility Route (PER) for Transfusion Medicine has launched, and physicians may now apply for assessment. The PER is designed for physicians who have acquired the competencies of the discipline through professional development and clinical practice and wish to have their enhanced competencies and skills recognized with an additional Royal College credential.

The competencies and eligibility criteria are outlined in the application form which can be requested by contacting Tiffany Lynch at diplomas@royalcollege.ca. Additional information is available on the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada PER-AFC page.

Upcoming events

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Apr 18
12:00 pm | Virtual

Exploring the relevance of race and ethnicity in transfusion medicine

Presented by Sunitha Vege Technical Director, Genomics Lab, New York Blood Center Learning Objectives Define race and ethnicity and explain guidance for reporting. Describe the use of race and ethnicity in transfusion medicine with focus on blood group differences. Discuss how expansion of cost

Transfusion

Apr 24
8:00 am | Winnipeg

Centre stage: Highlighting patient-centred care in vascular access and infusion therapy

The Canadian Vascular Access Association (CVAA) is a Canadian, non-profit multidisciplinary organization of healthcare professionals who are dedicated to enhancing the practice of vascular access and infusion therapy. This annual CVAA Conference is an opportunity for professional development that

Transfusion

Apr 25
12:00 pm | Virtual

Perinatal consensus conference recommendations

Presented by Dr. Lani Lieberman Dr. Gwen Clarke Learning objectives TBA Registration Registration is required for this event using the Zoom registration form: Webinar Registration - Zoom. To receive registration details for upcoming U of T Transfusion Medicine Rounds directly, join the U of T

Transfusion

Recent R.E.D. blogs

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A summary of recent discoveries advancing the understanding and treatment of hemophilia

Hemophilia is a rare bleeding disorder that undermines blood's regular clotting mechanism. There are two types of hemophilia, known as hemophilia A and hemophilia B, which are caused by a shortage or lack of different clotting factors. Since clotting factors are responsible for putting a stop to bleeding, individuals with hemophilia can bleed longer than normal after an injury, experience bleeding from minor injuries, spontaneous bleeding episodes, and in severe cases, bleeding into joints and muscles causing pain and damage. Chapter 17, Hemostatic disorders and hereditary angioedema, of

Post date: April 17, 2024

Transfusion

Blood Efficiency Accelerator Award Program helping team establish national best practices for out-of-hospital transfusions

Canadian Blood Services has multiple competitive funding programs open to Canadian researchers that pursue projects related to our research priorities. Since 2017, Canadian Blood Services’ Blood Efficiency Accelerator Award Program (BEAP) has supported innovative research projects that seek new knowledge or accelerate the application of existing knowledge to improve the efficient and appropriate utilization of blood products, while maintaining the safety of the blood system. Following a trauma in a remote location, an air ambulance urgently makes its way to pick up a bleeding patient. Due to

Post date: April 9, 2024

Organs and tissues

Transfusion

Introducing our Research Ethics Board Chair!

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

Post date: January 9, 2024

Organs and tissues

Transfusion