COVID-19 resources for health-care professionals

As the world grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic, being well informed has perhaps never been more important. For health-care professionals in particular, keeping pace with information related to COVID-19, which can change rapidly, is critical in helping them best serve their patients.

To support Canadian transfusion medicine health-care professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve created a repository of information on the Canadian Blood Services’ professional education website. You’ll find resources on blood product conservation practices during COVID-19, information about the treatment of COVID-19 patients with intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) and convalescent plasma, and much more.

Earlier in the pandemic, health-care workers who handle fresh blood components from Canadian Blood Services (i.e., red blood cells, platelets, plasma) were in touch with questions about whether accidental exposure to these products puts them at risk for COVID-19. In response, we published an FAQ for health professionals working with blood products during the pandemic. This FAQ summarizes the evidence-to-date, which continues to support the view that there is no risk of SARS-CoV-2 virus transmission by handling blood or blood products. Indeed, the scientific evidence gathered so far supports the view that the SARS-CoV-2 virus, like other respiratory viruses, is not transfusion-transmitted. The FAQ also provides guidance on how shipping containers and blood bags can be cleaned as well as links to related guidance documents.

We encourage health-care professionals to check out these resources and share them with colleagues. Keep checking back – the resources will be updated regularly as new information is available. And please, if there are resources you think might be worth sharing on the Professional Education site, let us know by e-mailing centreforinnovation@blood.ca.

To learn more about the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission via blood, read our R.E.D. post: Why you won’t get COVID-19 from a blood transfusion.

In addition, the public and donors can learn more about how Canadian Blood Services is responding to COVID-19 by visiting blood.ca/covid-19.

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.