New research publications: January 2026

Discovery (3): These papers highlight improved freezing methods for blood storage, a gene that may influence red blood cell survival after storage, and a data mining approach to exploring how production changes impact post-transfusion immune modulation in patients.

Donation policy & studies (2): These studies examine how to make Canada’s blood system more inclusive by supporting patient involvement in decisions and addressing systemic barriers.

Other Canadian Blood Services affiliations (4): These publications include a retrospective observational study on rare transfusion reactions, a qualitative descriptive study in the organ donation and transplantation setting, and clinical details of the rare disease, amyloidosis.

Where we published

Our research appeared in 8 journals, including Social Science & Medicine, Biotechnology and Bioengineering, and Transfusion. 

Spotlight on select publications

• Evaluating Isochoric Freezing as a Strategy for Storage of Red Blood Cells. 
  
  “A key challenge in blood banking is preserving red blood cell (RBC) viability during storage. This paper investigates isochoric freezing, a high-pressure supercooling method that limits ice formation, for RBC cryopreservation. While extreme conditions caused damage, the study successfully identified critical temperature-pressure limits to minimize cell harm. The results indicate that RBCs preserved under isochoric conditions at -2.5 °C maintained quality mostly similar to fresh controls.  
  
  This work highlights both the promise and current limitations of using isochoric freezing for human RBC preservation, and provides possible paths for developing next-generation storage technology by optimizing isochoric freezing protocols. The findings directly inform the potential for safer, longer-term storage strategies for blood supply and transfusion medicine.” 
  
  Dr. Yuanheng Zhao, Canadian Blood Services trainee
  Note: Dr. Yuanheng Zhao is a recipient of Canadian Blood Services Postdoctoral Fellowship award program.
   
• Engaging patients in blood systems: A qualitative study on immune globulin recipient perspectives. 
  
  “This study emerged from an interest in understanding the people who are affected by the decisions and operations of Canadian Blood Services. Patients who receive immunoglobulin (Ig) rely on our efforts to increase plasma collection in Canada. Given the centrality of our work to ensure a sufficient supply of plasma for Ig, my team wanted to understand the patient perspective on access to this treatment. 
  
  Our in-depth exploration into how patients view the supply of Ig and their ability to access this critical treatment in the future can direct our communication, consultation and engagement with patients on this matter. Furthermore, this study highlights the challenges embedded in accessing Ig in Canada’s health system, with implications for trust in physicians and health system decision-makers.” 
  
  Dr. Kelly Holloway, Canadian Blood Services scientist 
  Note: This study received support from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC); supplemental tables to accompany the article content may be requested from the authors.  

Our January publications list

This list includes any articles published this month, as well as those that have been e-collected or e-published on PubMed that have not previously appeared in our monthly publications list*. 

• Evaluating Isochoric Freezing as a Strategy for Storage of Red Blood Cells.
  Zhao Y, Wingnean K, William N, Acker JP. Biotechnol Bioeng. 2026 Jan 4. doi: 10.1002/bit.70145. PMID: 41486707
• Hypomorphic ATP11c is a novel regulator of decreased efficacy of transfused red blood cells in humans and mice.
  Zimring JC, Hay AM, Dzieciatkowska M, Stephenson D, Haiman ZB, Kleinman S, Norris PJ, Busch MP, Roubinian N, Fermo E, Bianchi P, Keele GR, Page GP, D'Alessandro A. Hemasphere. 2026 Jan 9;10(1):e70288. doi: 10.1002/hem3.70288. PMID: 41523080
• Emergence of red blood cell alloantibodies and transfusion management in patients with warm autoantibodies at a tertiary care centre in British Columbia, Canada. 
  Hutspardol S, Mi J, Denesiuk C, Kalar D, Sham L, Roche M, Tsu JR, Lam D, Yan MTS. Vox Sang. 2026 Jan 14. doi: 10.1111/vox.70177. PMID: 41534866
• Complex cases and coordination: Reports from organ donation specialists in Canada. 
  Silva A, Lotherington K, Dhanani S, Luvizutto J, Silva E Silva V. Intensive Crit Care Nurs. 2026 Jan 17;93:104335. doi: 10.1016/j.iccn.2026.104335. PMID: 41548458
• Engaging patients in blood systems: A qualitative study on immune globulin recipient perspectives.
  Majid U, Grundy Q, Kelly S, Holloway K. Soc Sci Med. 2026 Jan 16;392:118997. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2026.118997. PMID: 41564503
• American Society of Hematology (ASH) 2026 Guidelines on Diagnosis of Light Chain Amyloidosis.  
  Kukreti V, Seftel MD, Aguirre MA, Azzam M, Boedicker D, Bumma N, Carroll AS, Comenzo R, Cook J, Dasgupta NR, De La Torre A, Dispenzieri A, Jamal F, Kawtharany H, Khouri J, Leung N, Nazzal J, Picken MM, Raza S, Sanchorawala V, Sarswat N, Shaikh H, Singh D, Mustafa RA. Blood Adv. 2026 Jan 27:bloodadvances.2025017073. doi: 10.1182/bloodadvances.2025017073. PMID: 41592868
• Clinical Features of Systemic Amyloidosis: A Scoping Review.  
  Cook J, Shaikh H, Azzam M, Aguirre MA, Boedicker D, Carroll AS, Dasgupta NR, De La Torre A, Jamal F, Khouri J, Raza S, Sarswat N, Kawtharany H, Seftel MD, Mustafa RA, Kukreti V. Blood Adv. 2026 Jan 27:bloodadvances.2025017237. doi: 10.1182/bloodadvances.2025017237. PMID: 41603599  
• Systemic barriers to donation for African, Caribbean and Black communities: A qualitative key informant study.  
  Haw J, Senga J, Dordunoo D, Tinga B. Transfus Med. 2026 Jan 28. doi: 10.1111/tme.70065. PMID: 41603242
• Novel method for trend change detection and hypothesis generation in hemovigilance: A transfusion-related immunomodulation and blood production changes study.
  Ning S, Li N, Liu Y, Kim D, Acker JP, Arnold D, Hadzi-Tosev M, Hillis C, Kauffman A, Lucier KJ, Liaw PC, Rochwerg B, Syed S, Travis G, Zeller M, Heddle NM. Transfusion. 2026 Jan 30. doi: 10.1111/trf.70060. PMID: 41618488 

*Items in this list are identified using a process that relies on the PubMed database. While we aim to capture all relevant research articles, limitations in database indexing and search parameters may occasionally cause articles to be missed. If you are the author of an article that you believe has been missed from this monthly list, or have recently published an article that you think may be possible to include in an upcoming post, we encourage you to contact us at centreforinnovation@blood.ca to inquire.

We are proud of the remarkable work being done across Canadian Blood Services’ network. Stay tuned for more blog posts as we continue to advance scientific discovery and innovation for the Canadian blood system. 

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.