Looking back with gratitude on 2024
A year of many milestones made possible with the support of people across the country
December 20, 2024
Our vision at Canadian Blood Services is to help every patient, match every need and serve every Canadian. But this is only possible with the support of people across Canada, both within Canadian Blood Services and beyond.
For that reason, as 2024 draws to a close, we are looking back with gratitude on this year’s milestones. Below are just a few of them. Whatever your connection to Canada’s Lifeline, we thank you for being with us on this year’s journey.
Apology to 2SLGBTQIA+ communities
In May, Canadian Blood Services issued an apology to 2SLGBTQIA+ communities acknowledging the harms experienced by gay, bisexual, and queer men, trans people, and other members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, because of a former donor eligibility policy.
Dr. Graham Sher delivered the apology in-person to 2SLGBTQIA+ community members during an event held at Canadian Blood Services’ head office in Ottawa, Ont.
Using new technology to enhance patient safety
Canada’s blood supply is among the safest in the world. And we are fortunate to have access to equipment and processes to make it even safer. Pathogen inactivation technology renders bacteria, fungi and viruses harmless — including pathogens for which tests do not yet exist. We began using this technology to treat platelets in early 2022, and since May 2024, we have been shipping pathogen-inactivated platelets to all the hospitals we serve.
Increasing plasma collection for the manufacture of lifesaving medications
Demand continues to rise for medications made from plasma. This year we opened our ninth dedicated plasma donor centre in Windsor, Ont. It was part of our ongoing effort to collect more of the plasma that is required to make medications for patients in this country. The more plasma we can collect in Canada, the more we reduce reliance on the global market for these lifesaving pharmaceuticals.
An opportunity to inspire the next generation of physicians
In May, Canadian Blood Services CEO, Dr. Graham Sher, was honoured by the Max Rady School of Medicine (at the University of Manitoba) with an honourary doctorate. This degree was conferred upon him at the commencement ceremony for all graduating medical students, whom he had the privilege to address in his acceptance speech.
Continued momentum in stem cell growth
Whether it was our “Swabbing at Schools” initiative, which took place for two weeks at 86 different campuses across the country or any of our other many initiatives to grow our stem cell registry, work has been ongoing to not only increase the size but also the ethnic diversity among registrants. Currently, the stem cell registry has over 459,000 registrants increasing the odds for patients who are waiting for a life-changing match.
A partnership with the Department of National Defence
Canadian Blood Services announced an important partnership with the Department of National Defense to revive an old product — freeze-dried plasma — for use in battlefield scenarios.
Recognizing outstanding contributions to Canada’s Lifeline
In December, Canadian Blood Services presented six national awards. Those honoured were celebrated for contributions from living organ donation, to donor recruitment, to clinical research in transfusion medicine.
Celebrating 10 years of cord blood collection in Brampton
In July, Canadian Blood Services celebrated a decade of cord blood collections at William Osler Health System’s Brampton Civic Hospital. The occasion was marked as Canadian Blood Services’ staff, hospital staff, cord blood donors, financial donors and a grateful cord blood recipient gathered together at Brampton Civic Hospital to commemorate this life-changing anniversary.
A milestone kidney transplant
An exciting milestone was met when the 1000th kidney transplant for highly sensitized patients was completed in July of this year. Highly sensitized patients are those for whom a match is most difficult to find, and the Highly Sensitized Patient program facilitates matches across provincial borders for these patients.
New direction for the future
This year, Canadian Blood Services published a new strategic plan to help support our work into the future, and to ensure we are continuing to meet the evolving needs of patients. Check out the plan as well as our most recent annual report to learn more about how we are working, with your support, to improve outcomes for patients. Together, we are Canada’s Lifeline.
To read more about Canadian Blood Services’ recent progress, read the 2023-2024 annual report, titled Momentum.
