For this instalment of “Meet the researcher”, we met with Dr. Donald Branch, a scientist at Canadian Blood Services who studies infectious diseases and immunology. How long have you been with Canadian Blood Services? I started with the Canadian Red Cross at the Edmonton Blood Centre in December 1985. I was recruited there by the medical director, Dr. Jean-Michel Turc, to do a PhD in the department of immunology at the University of Alberta and to use my expertise in transfusion medicine as a consultant for the researchers and staff at the Edmonton Centre. After completing my PhD, I moved to a

Knowledge dissemination is a vital step needed for research to be translated into new applications and improved processes. Through our Centre for Innovation, Canadian Blood Services conducts and supports research related to transfusion medicine and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. KnowledgeInfusion webinars disseminate our research findings to Canadian Blood Services staff, helping them learn about exciting new discoveries and understand how they can be applied to address the organization’s challenges. The presentations are also recorded and shared on our Professional Education website to reach a broader audience.

Since 2011, many excellent projects have come to life through Canadian Blood Services' BloodTechNet program, which also receives support from Grifols. A new resource, titled Blood & Clots, and one of its creators, are the focus of today's post. Through the BloodTechNet competition, Canadian Blood Services' Centre for Innovation funds innovative projects aimed at delivering educational tools and resources that support the development of skills, knowledge, and expertise of health professionals in the transfusion, cellular therapy, and transplantation communities in Canada. Blood and Clots series

This week, we catch up with Dr. Sandra Ramirez-Arcos, Canadian Blood Services’ development scientist and head of the microbiology laboratory in Ottawa. How long have you been with Canadian Blood Services? I started working at Canadian Blood Services on November 10, 2003, so it will be 15 years in November 2018! What’s your role? I am a Development Scientist in the Process and Products Development group at the Centre for Innovation . Development scientists conduct applied research to tackle some of the challenges faced by Canadian Blood Services during the processing of blood products. My role

Researchers are invited to apply for funding under the MSM Research Grant Program

New publication: Donor deferral policies for men who have sex with men: past, present and future

For the latest instalment of “Meet the researcher” we chatted with Dr. John Blake, Canadian Blood Services’ research engineer and also known as “the numbers guy”.

Recipients of the Canadian Blood Services Lifetime Achievement Award are individuals whose landmark contributions are recognized as both extraordinary and world class in the field of transfusion or transplantation medicine, stem cell or cord blood research in Canada and/or abroad.

This article by Robert Flower, Associate Professor, University of Sydney, was originally published in 2017 on The Conversation (Australia) under CC BY ND licence.

In 2017, we published numerous research stories, here are a few of our favourites. Natural killers: when cells go wrong — New research reveals insights into causes of FNAIT A new study by Centre for Innovation scientist Dr. Heyu Ni and his research team at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto reveals insights into causes of miscarriage for some women... Calculating impacts of change Our in-house engineer, John Blake, did some nifty number crunching and estimated that an eligibility change would mean about 35,000 fewer donations collected in a year — hence a push for new donors to step forward to