Your digest

Have you received or plan to receive the COVID-19 vaccine? Inspire others with your story: With the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out underway across the country, more and more of our teams are becoming eligible to get vaccinated either as a priority healthcare worker or as a result of other eligibility factors such as age group in their local jurisdiction. Widespread immunization presents the best option to protect people from COVID-19. Help us inspire others by sharing your story about why you have received (or plan to receive) the COVID-19 vaccine as part of an upcoming series showcasing the variety of reasons why our teams are choosing to help stop the spread of COVID-19 through immunization. Email us at communications@blood.ca if you would like to contribute to this incredibly important series.

New video resources available on your COVID-19 vaccine page: Curious about how the COVID-19 vaccines were developed so quickly? How were they approved in Canada? If there might be side effects? Find answers to your questions and learn more about the four Health Canada approved COVID-19 vaccines through a new short video series now available on the vaccine page of your COVID-19 employee portal. Vaccine roll-out is evolving quickly across the country and is being implemented differently from one public health authority to the next. Our team is closely monitoring rapidly changing eligibility requirements and updating your vaccine page daily with the latest information. Learn more by visiting www.blood.ca/employees/vaccines.

Q3 2020-2021 performance report to employees is now available: All of our employees should be incredibly proud of how they’ve contributed to Canadian Blood Services’ ability to not only weather the storm of COVID-19 but, in some cases, launch new projects, move results forward at an accelerated pace and find new ways of contributing to our health system. Thanks to all team members who helped us get through this quarter successfully with plenty of learning and exciting opportunities ahead. Read more about this past quarter’s performance and the full report to staff on Connect.

Financial giving Q&A with Margaret Miedema: Our role in Canadian health care has expanded beyond blood over the past 20 years, to include plasma, stem cells, and support for organ and tissue transplants. With that growth, we have had to adapt and evolve to meet patient needs — and financial donors have, in part helped us do that. Even during these challenging times, financial donors across the country have continued to open their hearts and wallets to help support and strengthen our national programs and initiatives. In this special Q&A, Margaret Miedema, director of philanthropy explains the impact of financial giving during the pandemic and answers some of the most frequently asked questions our organization receives about financial giving. Read more on blood.ca.

Question of the day: Why are we opening more plasma donor centres?

In the past decade, the usage of one plasma protein product, immunoglobulin (Ig), has doubled internationally.

Immunoglobulin is used to treat a variety of life-threatening immunodeficiency disorders. Even before the pandemic there was a global supply challenge for immunoglobulin – and now, the pandemic has added new elements of risk around access to supply.

It’s our job at Canadian Blood Services to ensure the safety and security of blood and blood products, including plasma, for Canadian patients, today and into the future. The new plasma donor centres in Sudbury, Lethbridge and Kelowna are helping to increase source plasma collection, but these three centres aren’t enough – more needs to be done.

Increasing the amount of source plasma that we collect will allow us to mitigate and address related impacts to Canada’s national healthcare system. For more information visit blood.ca.

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About your digest

This 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.  No access to email? No problem — all this information and more can be found on blood.ca/employees from any device, no login required.    

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