Your digest
New, more inclusive criteria for plasma donation in London and Calgary
When Glenndl Miguel donated plasma during the last week of September, it marked an important milestone for both him and for Canadian Blood Services. “I last donated whole blood in 2014,” says Miguel. “Since then, I came out and I’ve been denied the opportunity to donate blood or plasma because I’m a sexually active gay man. It feels great to be able to donate again, because I know that donated plasma saves lives.”
Currently, men are eligible to give blood or plasma if it has been more than three months since their last sexual contact with a man. But, in late September, donor centres in Calgary, Alta. and London, Ont. began to apply new eligibility criteria that enable some gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (gbMSM) to donate plasma. Read about Miguel’s experience and learn more about the work behind the eligibility change on blood.ca/stories.
Changes to career milestone notifications
Congratulations to all those who are celebrating career milestones at Canadian Blood Services! Starting this year, milestone recipients will now receive an email notification on their anniversary date inviting them to select a gift and choose a shipping address. Milestone employees will be asked to login to the Recognition Portal, where they can browse and select from the gift catalogue that corresponds to their length of service. They will then have the choice to have their certificate and gift shipped to their home address or to their workplace.
If you are celebrating a career milestone and haven’t registered for the Recognition Portal yet, you can find more details about that here. You can also watch this video, which will take you through the registration process and offer a brief introduction of the features in the portal. You can find more information on Connect or send your questions to recognition@blood.ca.
Do you know who your brand ambassador is?
Our brand is more than a logo or a tagline. It’s who we are, what we do and how we tell the world about it. As employees, you are essential to bringing the Canadian Blood Services brand to life — to deliver on our vision — by seeing how your role connects with our purpose. Our brand ambassador network is here to help support you in this brand journey.
The brand ambassador network is made up of passionate and knowledgeable employees from across the organization who serve as the brand voice for our site on all things brand and reputation. Brand ambassadors are equipped with brand knowledge, educational resources and promotional materials, and can help you navigate any inquiry about our brand. To learn more about the brand ambassador network, or to connect with your local brand ambassador, visit the dedicated page on Connect, or reach out to brand@blood.ca.
Question of the day: What is the process for verifying the vaccination status of contractors?
Contractors with an agreement with Canadian Blood Services must be fully vaccinated before accessing any Canadian Blood Services sites. A central list of companies who have complied is being maintained and will be referenced before a contractor is allowed to enter a Canadian Blood Services site.
During the transition period (Oct. 1–31), if contractors are not on the list then the following steps are:
- Vaccination proof is provided upon arrival
- Proof of negative rapid or PCR testing result within 48 hours of arrival. This option is available until Nov. 1, 2021, when all persons who come on-site will be required to be fully vaccinated.
Any questions about the contractors policy can be submitted to COVID19VendorQuestions@blood.ca. For more details on contractor guidance please visit the vaccine policy page.
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About your digest
This digest highlights 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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