Your Digest
HSP donor program hits new milestone
The Highly Sensitized Patient (HSP) program is a national organ sharing program operated by Canadian Blood Services. In collaboration with all provincial donation and transplant programs, it provides access to a larger national pool of kidney donors for highly sensitized patients who need a more specific donor match. Since it began in 2013, the program has now facilitated 800 transplants for the hardest to match patients. Patients who are “highly sensitized” — meaning they have a sensitized immune system — are at higher risk of rejecting an organ transplant, making it very difficult to find a suitable donor match. These patients wait much longer for a kidney transplant and have a greater chance of becoming more ill or in some cases, dying while they wait. Visit Connect to see how the HSP program provides access to donors across the country, increasing the chances of finding kidney transplants for these hard-to-match patients. Find more information about the program and its part in helping Canada’s Lifeline on blood.ca.
Send us your feedback on the latest town hall (recording now available)
During yesterday’s town hall, our CEO, Dr. Graham Sher, addressed a few important updates in his opening remarks. He provided information on the recent news articles around paid plasma collection, our immediate need for filling blood donor appointments and the new voluntary masking protocols. In case you missed it, you can access the recording of the August 11 town hall on our employee portal or listen to the podcast on Connect on the Go. To improve future live events with our CEO, we ask you to please take a moment to provide us with your views by completing this anonymous three-minute survey by Friday, August 19, at 8 p.m. ET. At any time, you can submit questions or feedback to communications@blood.ca or submit anonymously using this form.
Question of the day
Can I donate blood or plasma if I have an autoimmune disorder like multiple sclerosis or diabetes?
You may not be eligible to donate if your health and/or the safety of Canada’s blood and plasma supply are at risk. There are some common reasons why we defer some donors, and you must be in good health at the time you donate. For example, you cannot donate if you have a cold, flu, sore throat, cold sore, stomach bug or any other infection. If you are living with a chronic disease or condition, there are some limitations which may prevent you from donating blood or plasma. There are also many Canadians living with specific diseases who are regular donors. People living with multiple sclerosis are not eligible to donate. People whose diabetes is managed through diet and/or medication (other than insulin) can donate, and those whose diabetes is managed with insulin may be able to donate. If you, or someone you know, have any questions at all, you can speak with one of our trained health professionals at 1 888 2 DONATE (1-888-236-6283) to discuss eligibility.
