Hospital Newsletter

Announcing this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award winners

A hearty congratulations to Dr. Jeannie Callum and Dr. Peter Nickerson for each winning the Canadian Blood Services Lifetime Achievement Award for 2025! Established in 2002, the Canadian Blood Services Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes individuals whose landmark contributions have made both extraordinary and world class impacts in the field of transfusion and/or transplantation (including hematopoietic stem cell, cord blood, and organ and tissue) science or medicine.

Dr. Jeannie Callum is a distinguished leader in transfusion medicine, recognized for her extensive contributions to clinical research, education, and policy development. Her research spans blood utilization, major hemorrhage management, and knowledge translation, with over 300 peer-reviewed publications and 9,973 citations and is lead author of the Transfusion Handbook: "Bloody Easy". She has led or contributed to major clinical trials, including ABLE, PROPPR, FIIRST, TACS, FIBRES, and FiiRST-2, helping to advance evidence-based transfusion practices. Beyond her academic achievements, what truly sets her apart is her unwavering dedication to patient care and blood system improvement. A committed donor herself she leads by example, having donated blood, platelets, bone marrow, and stem cells. Her passion, dedication, and impact on the Canadian blood system and transfusion medicine are what make her a most deserving recipient of this award.

Dr. Peter Nickerson has made transformative contributions to organ donation and transplantation in Canada, serving over 12 years as medical advisor to Canadian Blood Services. He played a central role in building a nationally coordinated transplant system through the development of programs such as the Kidney Paired Donation Program and the Highly Sensitized Patient Program. His leadership in standardizing human leukocyte antigen (HLA) laboratories and developing an interprovincial organ sharing network has led to more than 1,000 transplants for hard-to-match patients. His research in transplant immunology and rejection has directly shaped new clinical standards, and he is recognized nationally for his expertise and impact in this field. Dr. Nickerson’s dedication, innovation, and leadership make him highly worthy of this notable award.

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Ontario Hepatitis C Assistance Plan is sunsetting

The Ministry of Health is responsibly sunsetting the Ontario Hepatitis C Assistance Plan, a successful long-standing program that has achieved its goal of providing equitable access to hepatitis C compensation, with strong uptake for nearly 30 years.

The program will sunset according to the following timeline:

• Application Submission Deadline: June 30, 2026
• Estimated Program Closure Date: August 31, 2027

What is the Ontario Hepatitis C Assistance Plan (OHCAP)?

• OHCAP was established in 1998 to provide compassionate compensation to people infected with hepatitis C through the Ontario blood supply:
• before January 1,1986; and
• between July 2,1990 and September 28,1998.
• For almost 30 years, the program has provided a one-time compensation payment of $25,000 to eligible applicants.

Why is OHCAP Winding down?

• The OHCAP program has existed for 30 years. As of January 1, 2025, the OHCAP has provided compensation to a total of 4,494 individuals - $112.3 million in compensation has been distributed.
• In the last 10 years, there has been a steady decline in annual claimants to the OHCAP.
• After careful analysis, the ministry has decided to wind down a successful, long-standing program that has met its objectives, and reached the intended population to the greatest extent possible.
• The program has fulfilled its purpose, and a transparent closure process reflects the ministry’s commitment to efficient use of public resources.

Comparison with other jurisdictions?

• Ontario is one of five provinces that initiated provincial pre-86/post-90 HCV compensation programs (British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec).
• Ontario has the longest-running provincial pre-86/post-90 HCV compensation program with the greatest amount of total and individual provincial compensation distributed.
• All other jurisdictions except Ontario and Manitoba closed their programs about 15 years ago, in 2010/11. British Columbia, with the second highest proportion of Canada’s HCV cases, closed their program in 2011.

Further information is available at Ontario Hepatitis C Assistance Plan – Ontario.ca.

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Advancing hospital data integration across Canada: Strengthening visibility, coordination, and patient care from coast to coast

Canadian Blood Services is accelerating its work with hospitals across Canada to improve how blood product inventory information is shared, accessed, and used. As demand for blood and blood related products continues to rise nationwide, ensuring that hospitals have timely, accurate, and actionable data has never been more important.

To support this need, we are leading a national pilot project focused on automating the exchange of blood product inventory and disposition data. This initiative enhances visibility and traceability across Canada’s blood system, helping hospitals make informed decisions, especially during periods of shortage when every unit matters.

We’re proud to be collaborating with a growing group of hospital partners across Canada, including Unity Health, Halton Healthcare, Kingston Health Sciences, Alberta Precision Laboratories and Health Shared Services and many others. Their participation is helping to shape a modernized, more connected national inventory ecosystem. As the pilot expands, we’re actively seeking additional hospital partners from across Canada who are interested in joining this important work.

The benefits for hospitals begin immediately. Once integrated, hospitals no longer need to manually enter daily inventory and monthly disposition data, a task that can be time-consuming and prone to error. Automated data sharing reduces administrative burden and supports more accurate, near real-time insights into product availability.

Looking ahead, this integration opens the door to even greater value for hospitals across Canada. Future opportunities may include automated order replenishment, improved utilization analytics, and enhanced tools to help hospitals quickly locate specific products within their networks or nearby facilities. These capabilities can help reduce waste, improve access, and support better patient outcomes.

Hospitals interested in participating or learning more are encouraged to connect with their local Canadian Blood Services Hospital Liaison Specialist or email ken.poirier@blood.ca.

Together, we can build a more resilient and responsive national blood system, one that supports hospitals, empowers clinicians, and strengthens care for patients across Canada.

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How research supported by Canadian Blood Services is continuously improving blood components

Every day at Canadian Blood Services, blood donations are manufactured into the lifesaving blood components that Canadian Blood Services provides to meet patients’ and healthcare systems’ diverse needs. The Canadian Blood Services Clinical Guide to Transfusion provides information about these components for the healthcare providers that transfuse them to patients.

Behind the scenes, our interdisciplinary research & education network is continuously working to generate evidence and educational resources that can optimize how these components are collected, manufactured, stored, matched and prescribed.

What research does Canadian Blood Services support for red blood cells (RBC)?

Senior scientist Dr. Jason Acker and his team in Edmonton focus on factors that affect RBC quality to inform how RBCs are best manufactured, stored, and matched for transfusion recipients. One current project, ‘Hypothermic storage as an alternative to irradiation of red cell concentrates’, investigates whether cold storage could replace irradiation as a method to prevent transfusion-associated graft versus host disease by inactivating any white blood cells that remain after filtration. Since irradiation poses logistical challenges – including shortening the shelf-life of RBCs – the results of this work could provide an important benefit for blood banks and inventory management. This project has been funded by Canadian Blood Services’ Blood Efficiency Accelerator Program (BEAP) award.

Additional trainee-led research projects undertaken by members of Dr. Acker’s team also focus on ways that donor-specific factors – such as age of the individual or biological age of the collected cells – impact the quality of red blood cells collected for transfusion after storage; and how cryopreservation technologies can minimize the effects of storage on RBCs before transfusion. Both of these projects are supported by Canadian Blood Services’ Graduate Fellowship Program awards.

To find out what research activities Canadian Blood Services supports for platelets and plasma read the full article here.

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Learn about the history of blood donation and donor wellness in Canada

If you’re interested in learning more about the nitty-gritty of the blood system in Canada you may be interested in the fascinating history of the work that has been done to make sure that the blood system in Canada is safe, reliable, and meaningful to donors.

Donors are critical to the existence of the blood system, and their ongoing participation underpins a secure blood supply, saves lives, and is vital to the functioning of the health system. Chapter 21 is a new addition in the Clinical Guide to Transfusion that discusses the history of blood donation in Canada and reviews important aspects of donor wellness to maintain a safe and sustainable blood system.

Fun fact: During World War II, Canada became the largest producer of freeze-dried serum with more than 1 million liters of blood donated through over 2.3 million donations by Canadians! Learn more by reading the full chapter: An overview of donor wellness and perspectives. Resources like this make the biggest impact when they’re read and shared—so help spread the word!

The Clinical Guide is a trusted resource for health-care professionals across Canada, reflecting current best practices in transfusion medicine and is available in English with a French translation coming soon.

Thank you to our wonderful and talented authors, Dr. Marc Bienz, Dr. Kelly Holloway and Dr. Aditi Khandelwal, as well to our fantastic reviewers from across Canadian Blood Services’ departments, for this new and exciting chapter! This work would not be possible without our Clinical Guide co-editors, Dr. Aditi Khandelwal and Dr. Kaylee Brooks. Collaboration is key to building these educational materials.

You can go here to read the full Clinical Guide to Transfusion.

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Our new resources for health-care professionals

To support best practices in transfusion medicine, Canadian Blood Services develops educational resources in collaboration with subject-matter experts from across Canada.

Visit our professional education website, a trusted resource hub for health-care professionals across the country, and check out these new resources:

• Chapter 18 – Platelet transfusion, alloimmunization and management of platelet refractoriness. This chapter describes the process of collecting, manufacturing and storing platelets for transfusion, summarizes clinical practice recommendations for platelet transfusions, and provides information on adverse reactions and platelet refractoriness.
• 2024 Surveillance Report. We are pleased to present this annual report describing transmissible blood-borne infection surveillance. High quality and timely surveillance is central to the safety of the blood supply. This includes monitoring of transmissible disease markers that the blood is tested for (including bacteria) and investigation of any reports of possible transfusion transmission, as well as a horizon scan for any new pathogens that may pose a risk.
• FAQ: Parvovirus B19 Virus at Canadian Blood Services. Plasma fractionators report plasma nucleic acid test (NAT) results for parvovirus B19 to Canadian Blood Services within a timeframe that may incur the recall of in-date products. This new publication answers common questions regarding management steps in these scenarios.
• FAQ: Hepatitis A Virus (HAV) at Canadian Blood Services. Plasma fractionators report plasma nucleic acid test (NAT) results for HAV to Canadian Blood Services within a time frame that may incur the recall of in-date products. This new publication answers common questions regarding management steps in these scenarios.
• Serological best practices. These best practices support serological and immunohematology investigations and the selection of donor units for transfusion through the summary of the clinical significance of blood group alloantibodies. This resource has been developed to equip hospitals and health-care providers with information to support decision-making around patient care and the utilization of blood components.

In November 2025, Canadian Blood Services’ Innovation and Portfolio Management team published its annual impact report showcasing progress in research and education initiatives for the Canadian blood system. We invite you to access the report and share it amongst your networks by:

• Reading and sharing our R.E.D. blog which summarizes the report contents: Canadian Blood Services is Advancing a Legacy of Research Excellence: Announcing the Innovation and Portfolio Management Impact Report 2024–2025
• Download the full report PDF available on blood.ca: Canadian blood services Publications and reports

You can also find the latest updates from the National Advisory Committee on Blood and Blood Products (NAC) on our transfusion medicine home page.

If you don’t already receive our Research & Education Round Up, you can subscribe to the monthly newsletter here for updates on the latest news, publications, and events from Canadian Blood Services’ research and education network.

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