Delivery of cord blood stem cells an important milestone (OTTAWA) – Canadian Blood Services’ Cord Blood Bank has delivered a cord blood unit for the transplant of stem cells to the first Canadian patient. “We’re so excited to be giving a Canadian patient the gift of life,” says Dr. Heidi Elmoazzen, Canadian Blood Services’ director, cord blood bank and stem cell manufacturing. “We expect this will be the first of many lifesaving transplants from our bank for Canadians yet to come.” Rich in stem cells, cord blood is collected from the umbilical cord and placenta of volunteer donors shortly

Record number of potential marrow donors gives renewed hope to blood cancer patients Ottawa, ON—Canadian Blood Services’ stem cell registry called OneMatch is part of a network that now has a record number of people listed as potential stem cell donors. Bone Marrow Donors Worldwide (BMDW) brings together an international registry of donors, and along with the World Marrow Donor Association (WMDA) announced today that 25 million people worldwide are potential volunteer stem cell donors. These donors could help save the lives of people battling multiple life-threatening diseases. This

November 09, 2011 (TORONTO) – The driving force behind increased South Asian participation in blood and stem cell donation, Dr. Abhijit Guha, lost his battle with leukemia on Tuesday, November 8 in Toronto. Dr. Guha was a respected community leader who fought courageously through his personal fight with leukemia to encourage all Canadian South Asians to make stem cell and blood donation a part of their civic responsibilities for all patients. Sue Smith, Executive Director, Stem Cells, remembers Dr. Guha as a trailblazer who brought together his community to establish South Asians 4 Life (SA4L)

Annual Get Swabbed! University Challenge registers new stem cell donors November 1, 2011 (WINDSOR, ON) – This November Ontario celebrates the first annual Katelyn Bedard Bone Marrow Awareness Month to honour the legacy of a Windsor, Ontario toddler who succumbed to illness while waiting for a stem cell transplant. Ontario youth are organizing registration events to bring in hundreds of new stem cell donors to OneMatch Stem Cell and Marrow Network to support patients like Katelyn. Katelyn Bedard Bone Marrow Awareness Month is a result of Bill 80 brought forth by the late MPP Bruce Crozier. MPP

The Aboriginal Nurses Association of Canada and Canadian Blood Services’ OneMatch Stem Cell & Marrow Network working together to save lives September 20, 2011 (OTTAWA) - The Aboriginal Nurses Association of Canada (A.N.A.C.) and Canadian Blood Services’ OneMatch Stem Cell and Marrow Network have brought forth a joint resolution to the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) that encourages all First Nations people to register with the OneMatch Network. The A.N.A.C. has been working in partnership with OneMatch since 2009 by promoting awareness amongst Aboriginal People for the need to support the

Canadian Blood Services’ cord blood program and The Ottawa Hospital will provide increased hope for stem cell patients November 5, 2012 (OTTAWA) – Canada’s first national public umbilical cord blood bank is one step closer to realization thanks to a new partnership between Canadian Blood Services and The Ottawa Hospital. The Ottawa Hospital will be the first collection site for the national cord blood bank, playing a central role in the success of the program. This partnership will assist Canadian Blood Services with the recruitment of potential mothers and the collection of their baby’s

First Nations Chiefs support OneMatch Stem Cell & Marrow Network encouraging registration of more Aboriginal stem cell donors September 27, 2012 (Dartmouth) – A Resolution in support of the OneMatch Network has been passed today by the First Nations Chiefs of the Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nations Chiefs Secretariat. The Resolution is intended to encourage First Nations people in Atlantic Canada to register with the OneMatch Network. Improving the health care of First Nations peoples is an important priority for Atlantic First Nations communities, and the passing of the resolution is

Black Canadians urged to ‘make history’ by becoming blood and stem cell donors January 30, 2012 ( TORONTO, ON) — Even at age seven, little Kynan Jackson of Halifax knows all too well that one day he may depend on the generosity of a matched blood and stem cell donor to help him. Diagnosed with Sickle Cell Disease at age four, Kynan’s mother Winnell Jackson says she wants her son to have what any mother wants for their child – to lead a normal healthy life, to be active in sports and to do well in school. This year, Canadian Blood Services’ OneMatch Stem Cell and Marrow Network, is marking

Canadian Blood Services’ and The Ottawa Hospital celebrate first step towards building Canada’s first national public cord blood bank September 30, 2013 (OTTAWA) – Starting today, mothers delivering at The Ottawa Hospital’s General and Civic Campuses, will have an opportunity to donate their babies’ umbilical cord blood as part of Canadian Blood Services’ initial step in building Canada’s first national public cord blood bank. With $6.3M in charitable donations so far, once completed, the National Public Cord Blood Bank, together with the help of Canadians through Canadian Blood Services’ $12

Southern Ontario Universities Help Launch National Get Swabbed Campaign September 26, 2013 (LONDON / WATERLOO) – Students at Fanshawe College and Wilfrid Laurier University are donning new capes in their collective efforts to register more men between the ages of 17 and 35 to become potential stem cell donors through the national ‘Get Swabbed’ recruitment campaign. In its fourth year, the campaign includes nearly 100 university, college and high school campuses from coast-to-coast, with one central goal - to increase the number of young ethnically diverse male donors on the OneMatch Stem Cell