Hospital Newsletter
Events and updates
11th Annual Norman Bethune Symposium
April 6, 2022 | Vancouver, BC
CSTM 2022: Adapt, Transform, Personalize
May 26-29, 2022 | Toronto, ON
Discontinuation of apheresis fresh frozen plasma 500 ml
Discontinuation of apheresis fresh frozen plasma 500 ml (PDF)
In September 2021, Canadian Blood Services issued a customer letter (CL 2021-37) informing hospitals that the production of apheresis fresh frozen plasma (AFFP) sodium citrate – 500 ml with product code E0909V00 would be discontinued in February 2022. We advise hospitals to watch for future customer letters as this target date could change.
Canadian Blood Services has seen the distribution of AFFP 500 ml decline year over year; that’s why the organization decided to discontinue the production of AFFP 500 ml and instead increase the amount of Canadian plasma sent for fractionation into immunoglobulin.
In clinical cases where plasma components are indicated, frozen plasma (whole blood-derived), AFFP ACD-A 250 mL, and apheresis frozen plasma ACD-A 250 mL can be used interchangeably instead of AFFP 500mL.
Hospitals need to be aware of the following changes:
- By February 2022, collection and manufacturing of AFFP sodium citrate – 500 ml with product code E090V00, will be discontinued.
- In no later than one year, AFFP sodium citrate – 500 ml with product code E090V00 will be delisted from Canadian Blood Services’ product portfolio.
- The Circular of Information, Plasma Components (AFFP, FP CPD, Cryosupernatant CPD, Cryoprecipitate CDP) will be updated later to reflect changes when the AFFP sodium citrate – 500 ml is removed from Canadian Blood Services’ product portfolio.
Hospitals are advised not to remove the code for AFFP sodium citrate – 500 ml from their laboratory information systems until they are notified through a customer letter to do so. The product may be distributed to hospitals for up to one year after it is discontinued due to existing inventory.
Submission to Health Canada recommends sexual behaviour-based screening for all donors
Submission to Health Canada recommends sexual behaviour-based screening for all donors (PDF)
Last December, Canadian Blood Services made a submission to Health Canada to focus our donor screening criteria on higher-risk sexual behaviour, regardless of gender or sexual orientation, for all donors and collection types.
If Health Canada approves our submission, we will no longer ask men if they’ve had sex with another man or ask trans donors about whether they’ve had lower genital gender-affirming surgery. Instead, we would ask all donors about anal sex in the context of new or multiple recent partners. This would allow us to precisely and reliably identify those who may have a transfusion-transmissible infection, regardless of gender or sexual orientation.
In making this change, we will continue to hold ourselves to a high standard of safety for the patients we serve. We have more evidence than ever before, stemming from the MSM Research Program, international data and Canada-specific risk modelling, that indicates this change will not compromise the safety or adequacy of the blood supply. Currently, the risk of HIV being introduced to the blood system is extremely low, and according to the evidence, the proposed change will not increase that risk. External scientific committees have reviewed the details of the evidence and support our conclusion that blood safety will not be compromised by our proposed approach.
Health Canada’s review typically takes several months. If we are approved, we would seek to implement the changes as quickly as possible while also taking the time to get it right as we update systems and train employees.
We aim to be an organization that is inclusive and welcoming to all potential donors with minimal restrictions. We are continuing to take steps as an organization to further modify our practices and policies and cultivate a donor/registrant base and workforce that more fully and equitably reflects Canada’s diverse population, and that serves an increasingly diverse patient population.
The 17th Annual Transfusion Medicine Education Symposium
The 17th Annual Transfusion Medicine Education Symposium (PDF)
The symposium, titled Managing the Bleed: Practices Physicians Should Know, is on April 8th, 2022. This year, the event will be presented as a webinar. Healthcare professionals can register to watch on a computer or mobile device as a group.
Canadian Blood Services and the Ontario Regional Blood Coordinating Network (ORBCoN) have partnered again to offer this annual educational event to develop the transfusion skills of professionals working in community hospitals to improve patient outcomes.
The symposium is open to all healthcare professionals involved in the ordering, issuing, and/or transfusing of blood and blood products, including physicians, nurses, technologists, as well as residents, trainees, and students.
"Bleeding patients present a unique challenge even with protocolized massive hemorrhage protocols,” says Dr. Waseem Anani, Canadian Blood Services medical officer and co-chair of the symposium organizing committee. “Recent data suggest the origin of the bleeding can be important in the type of blood component resuscitation and pharmacologic interventions we provide.”
“We are bringing experts to discuss current standards of care and approaches to transfusion.”
Presentations include:
- Case studies of traumas-considering Rh(D) positive and negative patients
Dr. Mark Yazer – University of Pittsburg Medical Centre - Postpartum hemorrhage must always be anticipated
Dr. Nadine Shehata – Mount Sinai Hospital - Case studies of bleeding stem cell patients
Dr. Johnathan Mack – The Ottawa Hospital
The virtual conference is free to attend, but registration is required. There are two repeating sessions to choose from — one morning and one afternoon. If you have any questions, please contact Denyse Tremblay at denyse.tremblay@blood.ca or Tracy Cameron at tcameron@ohri.ca.
New Organs & Tissues for Life Education Portal provides great resource to help talk to kids about organ donation
Patients in Canada continue to struggle with a shortage of lifesaving organs. At any given time, more than 4,000 Canadians are waiting for an organ transplant. In 2020 alone, 276 Canadians died on a waitlist. To solve this problem, many more Canadians need to register their intent to become donors, as well as inform their loved ones of their wishes.
Education is key. Many families find it difficult to talk about organ donation together, but research tells us that even young children can participate in these conversations, as well as initiate them within their families.
This is why Canadian Blood Services has collaborated with Canada’s organ and tissue donation and transplant organizations to provide resources to help. The new Organs & Tissues for Life | Education Portal collects and shares age-appropriate, easy-to-access and easy- to-use teaching resources with educators, parents, and students. The goal is to spark interest in, and conversation about, organ and tissue donation and transplantation.
We hope the resources in this portal can help Canadians have important conversations within their own families. And we also hope individuals will tell others about them, including any teachers in their life who could use these resources to bring the topic of organ donation to their students.
Learn more at blood.ca/stories.