Daily COVID-19 digest

World traveller driven to donate: From a young age, Tracey Evans knew she wanted to save a life. She just wasn’t sure how, until she discovered organ donation.  After a few hurdles, Tracey was able to donate part of her liver to save the life of a child. Then this spring, while her frequent international travels were curtailed by the pandemic, she became a blood donor as well. “Organ recipients need blood immensely,” said Tracey, who overcame a lifelong fear of needles to become a donor. “It’s almost not enough to just give the organ. There’s so much more that needs to be there to support that transplant, including blood donations.”  Read more about Tracey’s inspiring journey at blood.ca/stories.   

PPE tracker update:  We know that personal protective equipment (PPE) is top of mind for many employees — especially those of you on the frontlines. Every Thursday, we update our PPE inventory tracker to help you understand how our supply levels are doing and the actions we are taking to address new considerations or challenges.  In this week’s overview, our supply chain and procurement team provide some insight into our supply of wipes, as well as an update on our shipments of replacement surgical masks. Read more by going to blood.ca/employees/ppe.  

Cord blood awareness month: Every July we celebrate Cord Blood Awareness Month by raising awareness about the incredible benefits of donated umbilical cord blood. Stem cells from cord blood can be used to treat more than 80 diseases and disorders.  Over the next 30 days we will be sharing incredible stories about cord blood donation on Connect and blood.ca. We will also be highlighting groundbreaking research undertaken across Canada through our Cord Blood for Research Program. With cord blood collections resumed in Brampton and resuming at the three remaining collections hospitals later this month after a temporary suspension, this year’s celebrations are more important than ever. Help us spread awareness about the benefits of cord blood by sharing some of the amazing stories you will see this month using the hashtags #CordBloodAwareness and #StemCellsForLife. Read more on Connect.  

Question of the day: Can you clarify whether logistics staff need to wear masks when setting up a mobile collections event?  

Masks are mandatory for employees, volunteers and contractors working in collections events. This is one of the many ways we are limiting the spread of COVID-19 and keeping our teams safe. 

Although we encourage our teams to wear a mask at all times in accordance with advice from public health, mobile collection events officially “start” once the event it set up and our teams are ready to welcome donors through the doors.   For this reason, during set up of an event, masks are only mandatory when staff members cannot maintain a two-metre distance from others. Once the event is set up and donors are welcomed, masks are mandatory for all individuals.  

If you have concerns about whether yourself or a colleague can maintain a two-metre distance when setting up mobile collection events, we encourage you to speak with your manager or supervisor to receive guidance.

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About the daily digest   

This daily digest will highlight the latest policy and employee support measures, resources to help you manage our new reality and original content like articles and videos to remind us that what we do matters.  Things are moving quickly, so you can expect to hear from us daily. No access to email? No problem — all this information and more can be found on blood.ca/employees from any device, no login required.     

Click here to read past editions of the daily digest.     

Have questions? Check out blood.ca/employees or email us at communications@blood.ca