Welcome to the Assignment Saving Lives Training and Orientation

Life can change in seconds and you — or someone you love — may need blood and blood products.  Canadian Blood Services needs more than 100,000 new donors every year to ensure there is an acceptable level of blood and plasma products to meet ongoing patient needs.

Everything we do to help patients in Canada depends on donors. Donors are vital links in Canada’s Lifeline who improve the lives of patients every day.    

Here are some important links to check out and familiarize yourself with for the blood product recruitment:

• ABCs of eligibility for donating blood, platelets and plasma
• Donating blood
• Donating plasma

Whenever you sign someone up to your team, ensure they have checked their eligibility before attending their first appointment.  If someone has specific medical questions about their eligibility, we encourage them to call 1 888 2 DONATE in advance of their appointment and speak to one of our health professionals. 
 
A few other important reminders to send donors: 

• Make sure they are in good general health and are feeling well the day of their donation 
• At least 17 years old 
• Meet the height and weight requirements if they are between 17 and 23 years old 
• Bring valid government issued ID. Examples: driver’s license, health Card, birth certificate, passport 
• Drink water and eat a good meal before their appointment 

Blood and Plasma Tracking

If you are in the blood product contest, you will be using our Partners for Life program to track results. This program will allow potential donors to join your team and will allow Canadian Blood Services to track unique donors.  

You may notice that your Partners for Life portal shows a larger donation number than our official Assignment Saving Lives contest report. This is because the portal tracks the total number of donations made by all of your team members and depending on their donation type, they might make more than one during the contest period of June 27 to September 21, 2024.  

Remember you are being measured according to unique donors, which means we will only count one donation during the contest period, not more than that.

The official report (found on this page) is where you should view your results. 

At any given moment, there are hundreds of patients in Canada who need a lifesaving stem cell transplant. Every new registrant brings hope to those patients and their loved ones.  

Joining the stem cell registry is a commitment to patients in need of a lifesaving transplant. As a potential stem cell donor, registrants could be matched within a few months or years of their registration date. And while it is possible someone may never be matched to a patient; every registrant brings hope to the hundreds of patients in Canada and abroad who are waiting for their lifesaving stem cell donor match.  

We need to start with a WHY here – warm and fuzzy why
 
Here are some important links to check out and familiarize yourself with for the Stem Cell contest. 

Please note that these videos are specific to volunteers and some of the information may not apply to you. For example, you will be finding and planning your own events and will not have volunteers present.

• https://www.blood.ca/en/stemcells/donating-stemcells  
• CIAB event guide
• REVISED Stem Cells Volunteer Onboarding 1 (blood.ca)
• Stem Cells Volunteer Onboarding 2 (blood.ca)
• Campaign in a Box Module (blood.ca)

The stem cell registrant contest will be using our Campaign in a Box (CIAB) program to track contestant progress. 

Once you complete this training and have been assigned to a Canadian Blood Services contact, they will reach out to you to complete an additional virtual training. Once complete they will order your CIAB for you. It is important that you register for this contest with the address you will be residing at, for the CAIB materials to be delivered. 
 

Here is a breakdown of how to use the Campaign in a Box program: 

Campaign in a Box Module (blood.ca)

It’s important to keep in contact with your Canadian Blood Services contact, especially if you begin to run low on swabbing kits. They will help you order more and be a great resource throughout the contest. *please note that it can take two weeks to have kits delivered*

Only completed swab registrations will be counted towards the contest. Please make sure any swab kits you have handed out have been mailed back via Canada Post. The best practice is to have individuals complete the kit with you. This way you can provide support and mail the swabbing kit in yourself to ensure delivery.  

After the stem cell registrant contest closes on September 21st, any additional kits received will not count towards the contest – however we encourage you to continue to use the stem registration kits in your network for interested and eligible individuals who want to sign up for the stem cell registry.  If you no longer have a use for them, the unused kits can be discarded into your recycle/garbage.

The weekly standings will appear on this page once the contest begins. Your local contact will let you know when the initial reporting is updated.

Next Steps

Thank you for completing the Assignment Saving Lives training and orientation. We hope you will learn and take part in both contests! 

Please complete this completion form

A Canadian Blood Services employee will be in touch with you soon. A reminder that you will have two contacts if you are in both contests. All stem cell registrant contestants will also have a short virtual orientation that your contact will organize.  

Asset Portal Access

We have also compiled a list of Frequently Asked Questions and about the program that you can refer to at any point.  

Frequently Asked Questions

If you need any information right now, please contact assignment@blood.ca otherwise, you will be connected with a Canadian Blood Services employee in your local area once you complete this training.