How Canadian Blood Services’ research and education activities support continuous improvement in blood and plasma donor wellness

Donors are the foundation of a blood system and their ongoing voluntary participation supports a secure and sustainable blood supply that saves lives. Every day, Canadian Blood Services collects these lifesaving donations, carefully processes and distributes them coast to coast to meet the diverse needs of patients and healthcare systems. 

Our world is continuously changing and so is the donor base. To adapt to these changes, Canadian Blood Services uses an interdisciplinary research and education network to continuously improve the donor experience and prioritize donor wellness. This blog summarizes an overview of the ongoing evolution of the Canadian donor base and the research and education that supports these changes. 

The history of donor wellness in Canada 

Times of crisis often inspire innovation, as is the case with modern blood donation. The origin of the civilian blood system in Canada is rooted in the critical need for blood that helped save lives during the Spanish Civil War and World War II. In fact, during World War II, Canada became the largest producer of freeze-dried serum– a product derived from human blood donations used to treat bleeding– with more than 1 million liters of blood collected through over 2.3 million donations by Canadians! 

Prior to the establishment of Canadian Blood Services and to support donor wellness at this time, the Canadian Red Cross Society provided recruitment materials with suggested meals before and after donations. Most meals prior to donation were recommended to be low-fat to ensure the quality of the freeze-dried serum, while meals after donation were designed to assist with recovery and iron level restoration.

From 1998 to today: Building a safe and inclusive blood system

Fast forward to 1998 when Canadian Blood Services became Canada’s blood operator (excluding Québec). Researchers at Canadian Blood Services along with external partners are investigating how dried plasma products, which are similar conceptually to the dried serum used in the past, may be used to provide coagulation factors in environments where the portability and storage of blood products are challenging. Coagulation factors are the elements of blood that initiate clotting to stop bleeding, and research into the use of dried plasma products that can both provide these factors and be easily reconstituted for transfusion is of growing interest for blood operators.  

Learn more about this dried plasma research in the short video available on the Government of Canada website.

Our donor wellness information has also evolved from low-fat meal recommendations, to include advances in donor screening, reducing adverse events with donation, and improving donor experiences. 

These advances have been driven by investments in both medical and social research designed to support donor wellness and expand donor eligibility. Examples like the items noted below demonstrate how Canadian Blood Services is continuously applying a variety of research methodologies with donor wellness top of mind:

• In 2014, research undertaken by members of Canadian Blood Services' donation policy and studies team assessed the hemoglobin screening limit of 125 grams per litre as a safe criteria for donors when tested during pre-donation screening. Since then, selective ferritin testing has been implemented to provide further information about an individual’s iron stores prior to donation and prevent iron deficiency and promote donor wellness. 

  • Read more about these changes  and the research behind it.

• Beginning in 2017, research programs dedicated to enhancing inclusivity in donor screening questions successfully supported the implementation of sexual behaviour-based screening. This change removed questions about sexual orientation that previously prevented many sexually active gay, bisexual, queer, and other men who have sex with men, and some transgender people, from donating blood. We now ask all donors the same questions about sexual behaviour, regardless of sexual orientation or gender. 

  • Read more about the research behind this change and about the current eligibility criteria.

Says Dr. Kelly Holloway, a Canadian Blood Services scientist whose expertise is generating knowledge by applying social science approaches within the donation policy and studies team: 

In the social sciences, we consider donors within the broader context of their lives. We try to build an understanding of how community, work, caregiving and other factors influence the personal decision to donate or not, and what donation means to them. In this way, donor wellness extends to the donor’s social well-being.

Supporting change through education

Through an interdisciplinary and community-driven approach, Canadian Blood Services assists with the development of educational materials for health-care and laboratory professionals on the changes in donor eligibility criteria and donor health maintenance. 

This includes the newest chapter in the Clinical Guide to Transfusion, Chapter 21: An overview of donor wellness and perspectives. The Clinical Guide to Transfusion is a trusted resource for health-care and laboratory professionals across Canada, reflecting current best practices in transfusion medicine. 

Co-authors of the chapter share their comments on the chapter and the value it adds for readers: 

Chapter 21 introduces the concept of donor wellness as we understand it today, tracing its evolution through the history of transfusion medicine, an evolution profoundly shaped by the early contributions of Canadians and Canadian-trained scientists. Their wartime innovations led to the development of donor selection strategies and organized blood collections, principles that would later become central to donor safety, ethical stewardship, and the modern civilian blood system. With donor education comes transparency. Chapter 21 reinforces the importance of evidence-based communication with donors.

- Dr. Marc Bienz, medical director of transfusion medicine at the Jewish General Hospital (McGill University) 

 

Chapter 21 was created to address the need for a clear, accessible overview of donor wellness and donor perspectives, grounded in historical context, contemporary research, and the human experience of donation. Combining medical evidence, historical insight, and social considerations, fills an important gap in the Clinical Guide and supports the ongoing evolution of Canada’s donor community.

- Dr. Aditi Khandelwal, Canadian Blood Services medical officer

Other educational materials designed to support professionals with staying up-to-date on the latest advances in donor eligibility criteria and wellness can be found on Canadian Blood Services’ professional education website, Profedu.ca.

Donor-specific resources include:

• The importance of iron for whole blood donors: a Canadian perspective

• Informed consent for blood transfusion course

• Chapter 6, Donor selection, donor testing and pathogen reduction

Without the generosity of voluntary donations, the foundation of the current public blood system would not exist. Canadian Blood Services’ research and education activities support continuous advancements in donor eligibility criteria and wellness that strengthen the donor base and help us match products and services to patient and health system needs.

Canadian Blood Services – Driving world-class innovation 

Through discovery, development and applied research, Canadian Blood Services drives world-class innovation in blood transfusion, cellular therapy and transplantation—bringing clarity and insight to an increasingly complex healthcare future. Our dedicated research team and extended network of partners engage in exploratory and applied research to create new knowledge, inform and enhance best practices, contribute to the development of new services and technologies, and build capacity through training and collaboration. Find out more about our research impact.  

The opinions reflected in this post are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Canadian Blood Services nor do they reflect the views of Health Canada or any other funding agency.