Could clues to the successful treatment of some of the world’s most challenging viral infections come from understanding how viruses interact with our body’s clot-creating proteins? Dr. Ed Pryzdial and his laboratory team at the Centre for Blood Research (CBR) have dedicated research efforts to answering questions like this; efforts that have recently earned funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

Dr. Cyrus Eduljee, associate director of portfolio management at Canadian Blood Services, explains how his group’s work supports the organization in bringing new products to the shelves and the importance of ensuring the organization is well prepared to withstand future shocks.

This post was written by Marie-Soleil Smith, PhD Candidate in Dr. Hélène Côté’s Lab at the University of British Columbia, and edited by Dr. Geraldine Walsh, knowledge broker at Canadian Blood Services. It originally appeared on the Centre for Blood Research blog in March 2022.

The Canadian Blood Services Lay Science Writing Competition supports our trainee network to develop communication skills by challenging them to showcase their research using plain language.

Red cell antigen genotyping is an important tool for healthcare providers in the development of transfusion strategies for patients, though the reports can be complex to interpret. New resources on Canadian Blood Services’ Professional Education website will assist healthcare providers in interpreting these reports, in addition to the support available from the National Immunohematology Reference Laboratory (NIRL).

Innovative research undertaken by Dr. Na Li and the team at the McMaster Centre for Transfusion Research is harnessing electronic health data to improve demand forecasting and inventory management of red blood cells.

Development work by Canadian Blood Services’ product and process development group lays the groundwork for greater operational flexibility for blood operators looking to introduce whole blood for transfusion.

Imagine a cut on your hand gets infected. It gets hot, swollen, painful – but it means your immune system is fighting off that infection. Now imagine that happening throughout your entire body because the infection spread everywhere through your bloodstream. This is sepsis – a life-threatening blood infection. Read on to learn what we know and don’t know about sepsis, the link to COVID-19, and why we’re entering a new era of heightened interest in sepsis research.

Canadian Blood Services recently made a submission to Health Canada to focus donor screening criteria on higher-risk sexual behaviour, regardless of gender or sexuality, for all donors and all phlebotomy collection types.

As we begin a new year, look back with us at the top five blogs of 2021. Unsurprisingly, pandemic-related information gained the most attention.