Unveiling the 2018 BloodTechNet awardees

BloodTechNet is a competitive funding program that supports projects aimed at delivering innovative educational resources for healthcare professionals in the transfusion, cellular therapy, and transplantation communities.  

Again this year, we were impressed by the quality of the applications received for the BloodTechNet competition and we look forward to seeing the educational resources that the four new projects will produce in about a year. To share our excitement, here’s a taste of what’s to come! 

Enhancing knowledge about blood groups and antibodies to prevent transfusion reactions 

The team will develop an internet-based platform to deliver curriculum about blood groups and antibodies for Canadian doctors and blood bank technologists. Dr. Matthew Yan, hematologist and transfusion medicine specialist affiliated with Canadian Blood Services, will lead this project with Drs Jacob Pendergrast and Gordon Tait (both of UHN in Toronto) as co-investigators.

Applying educational tools of knowledge translation to reduce the inappropriate use of plasma 

The team will follow a set of knowledge translation methodologies to bring existing guideline information to opinion leaders at large academic hospitals in Toronto, London, Hamilton and Ottawa and to co-develop solutions to change practice. Dr. Ziad Solh, transfusion medicine specialist affiliated with Western University, will lead this project and engage multiple collaborators from across the province of Ontario.  

Transport and storage of blood products 

The team will create educational resources for clinical, laboratory and allied staff on the transport and storage of blood products. Clare O’Reilly, transfusion safety nurse at the BC Children's and Women's Health Centres will lead this project with multiple co-investigators from the province of British Columbia. 

We caught-up with Clare at the 2018 ISBT Congress in Toronto where she told us about the resources her team developed for nurses with her 2014 BloodTechNet award. 

Stem cell transplantation multimedia toolkit 

This team will expand the Stem Cell Club’s multimedia library by developing tools to support educating healthcare professional students about stem cell donation. The new online tools will include infographics, a whiteboard video and a repository of stories from patients, donors, recruiters, and transplant physicians and staff. Dr. Warren Fingrut, hematologist affiliated with the University of Toronto and founder of Stem Cell Club, will lead this project with collaborators from across Canada, including Canadian Blood Services. 

It is inspiring to see the ideas generated by our healthcare and education partners and a privilege to help bringing them to life with the BloodTechNet funding. 

Not familiar yet with projects previously supported by BloodTechNet? 

Visit our Professional Education website to access educational resources developed for the community since 2011. 

Apply for BloodTechNet funding to bring your ideas to life. 

Through the BloodTechNet competition, Canadian Blood Services 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. 

Who can apply to BloodTechNet?  

Applicants must be health professionals (medical lab technologists, nurses and physicians) belonging to the transfusion, cellular therapy and/or transplantation communities in Canada. 

• Projects must have educational goals that develop professional skills, knowledge and expertise. 

• Projects must have a clear plan with defined goals and deliverables that will be completed within the one-year term of the award. 

• Priority will be given to projects that are collaborative in nature and include team members from different health care professions, departments, organizations and/or jurisdictions. 

The application deadline for the 2019 competition is set for November 30, 2018. The 2019 competition guidelines and application form will be available shortly at blood.ca 

Related reading: 

• Social media for knowledge translation – a BloodTechNet project  
• Choosing Wisely Canada's transfusion recommendations find a new outlet via BloodTechNet 
• The Stem Cell Club

Canadian Blood Services – Driving world-class innovation

Through discovery, development and applied research, Canadian Blood Services drives world-class innovation in blood transfusion, cellular therapy and transplantation—bringing clarity and insight to an increasingly complex healthcare future. Our dedicated research team and extended network of partners engage in exploratory and applied research to create new knowledge, inform and enhance best practices, contribute to the development of new services and technologies, and build capacity through training and collaboration. Find out more about our research impact. 

The opinions reflected in this post are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Canadian Blood Services nor do they reflect the views of Health Canada or any other funding agency.