University of Alberta’s Timothy Caulfield receives James Kreppner Award

The 2018 Canadian Blood Services’ James Kreppner Award has been awarded to Timothy Caulfield, professor and research director in the Health Law Institute at the University of Alberta.   

Valued at $50,000, the award will support Professor Caulfield’s project to analyze the marketing practices of private cord blood banks, assess their claims, and consider how regulatory tools can help ensure services marketed are done in a scientifically informed and evidence-based manner.    

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“The entire Health Law Institute team is thrilled about this award, and we truly appreciate the opportunity to dig into the complex issues associated with donation, blood products and policy development,” says Professor Caulfield. “The research seems both timely and needed. We are lucky to have an award of this nature and hope our work will reflect James Kreppner's fearless analysis of controversial issues.”  

James Kreppner was a former board member of Canadian Blood Services, a lawyer, and a strong advocate for patients’ rights and blood safety. He suffered a severe form of hemophilia-A – a genetic disorder that makes it difficult for blood to clot, and his condition often required transfusions of blood products. In 1985, he became infected with HIV and hepatitis C through tainted blood products.  

Mr. Kreppner became a key figure in establishing the public inquiry into contaminated blood and testified twice before The Krever Commission. He was also a long-time volunteer and member of the Canadian Hemophilia Society before his passing ten years ago on May 14, 2009.   

This annual award named in his honour supports one high-quality research project that explores legal and policy questions relevant to the products and services provided by Canadian Blood Services. The award’s research priorities include the legal and regulatory aspects of (a) donation, collection, storage, and use of blood, blood products, and hematopoietic stem cells; and (b) organ and tissue donation and transplantation.   

Through a series of funding programs and research collaborations, the Canadian Blood Services’ Centre for Innovation conducts and supports research in key priority areas, including projects that span the translational continuum from “bench to bedside.”  

The 2019 competition for the James Kreppner Award will open for applications in Fall 2019 and will support one project with up to $50,000 for a period of one year.   

Find out more about current and past James Kreppner Award program projects:  

• 2018 – Canadian cord blood banking: Legal and policy responses  

• 2017 – Of skin, sperm, and blood: A comparative analysis of exemptions in Canadian human tissue legislation  

• 2016 - The role of stakeholder trust in OTDT policy change: public and professional attitudes to ante-mortem interventions in organ donation  

• 2015 - Organ donation in Canada: Engaging with stakeholders and proposing solutions to current legal and ethical challenges  

• 2014 - Legal and policy strategies to optimize organ donation in Alberta  

Further reading:  

• The life of James Kreppner  

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.

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.