Recent research involving Canadian Blood Services researchers highlights the relationship between donor age and the quality of blood products like red blood cells, while considering the complex interplay between storage conditions, oxidative stress, and genetic factors. Though the clinical implications remain uncertain, these findings underscore the importance of ongoing research in optimizing blood storage practices and continuing to improve the efficacy of blood transfusions for patients in need.

Awa Diagne, a research assistant at Canadian Blood Services, describes her experience working on the Piloting and evaluating a community-led strategy for diversifying the stem cell registry project over summer 2023.

Dr. Sheila O’Brien, Canadian Blood Services’ associate director of epidemiology and surveillance, recently joined Public Health Ontario’s (PHO) webinar series to share ongoing efforts to collect and analyze data on the rates of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID) infection in the blood donor population. This blog summarizes presentation highlights and provides an update on Canadian Blood Services’ contributions to the COVID-19 Immunity Task Force (CITF) seroprevalence research.

In this blog, Canadian Blood Services scientists Dr. Jennie Haw and Dr. Kelly Holloway reflect on their experiences presenting at the International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT) annual conference in Gothenburg, Sweden. Read on to learn more about their social science research at this international event!