The latest news, publications and events from Canadian Blood Services’ Medical Affairs and Innovation research and education network.

Collected from October 2020

We hope this newsletter finds you safe and healthy.

This month we celebrate a milestone – this newsletter now reaches more than 2,000 subscribers! A heartfelt thank you to each and every one of you for your continuing interest in research and education at Canadian Blood Services. If you find this newsletter of value, we encourage you to share it with a colleague who may not already subscribe.

We welcome your feedback and encourage you to let us know what you would like to see in upcoming editions. Please share your comments and questions with us at centreforinnovation@blood.ca

Upcoming events

Topic Teaching: The Ontario Transfusion Quality Improvement Plant (OTQIP): Planning, implementation, and outcomes
Nov. 3, 2020 | Webinar

Topic Teaching: Laboratory issues encountered with new haemophilia treatments
Nov. 10, 2020 | Webinar

Earl W. Davie Symposium
Nov. 17, 2020 | Virtual Symposium

Topic Teaching: Emerging infections in Transfusion Medicine (epidemics)
Nov. 17, 2020 | Webinar

U of T Rounds: Anti-Coltan(a) and MMA Para-Bombay
Nov. 26, 2020 | Webinar

CST 2020 Fall Virtual Forum
November 2020 | Online Event

ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition
Dec. 5, 2020 | Virtual Meeting
Registration closes Nov. 5, 2020

The 36th International Congress of the ISBT
Dec. 12, 2020 | Virtual conference

View all events

Funding opportunities from
Canadian Blood Services

BloodTechNet Award Program
Supporting the development of innovative educational projects that network the transfusion, cellular therapy and transplantation communities in Canada.
Application deadline: Nov. 15, 2020

Canadian Blood Services Graduate Fellowship Program
Providing stipend support for young investigators who want to initiate or continue training in the field of transfusion science. Graduate students undertaking full-time research training in a Canadian institution are invited to apply.
Application deadline: Nov. 15, 2020

For Canadian Blood Services trainees:
The 2020-2021 Lay Science Writing Competition is open for applications. This year's theme is "Challenges 2020". The competition is open to members of the Canadian Blood Services extended research trainee network.
Application deadline: Dec. 15, 2020

Funding recipients

Congratulations to all recently announced funding recipients!

Blood Efficiency Accelerator Program:

David Allan, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
Andrew Shih, University of British Columbia

Intramural Research Grant Program:

Jason Acker, University of Alberta
Donald Arnold, McMaster University
Alan Lazarus, Unity Health Toronto
Guillaume Martel, University of Ottawa
Nicolas Pineault, Canadian Blood Services
Ed Pryzdial, Canadian Blood Services
Alan Tinmouth, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute

Postgraduate Fellowship Program:

Kaylus Frais Boligan (Branch lab, Toronto ON)
Harinad Maganti (Pineault lab, Ottawa ON)

To learn more about these funded research projects, visit our funded research projects page.

New resources

Clinical Guide to Transfusion

Chapter 9, Blood Administration. The aim of this chapter is to develop and support the knowledge of health-care professionals involved in prescribing or administering blood components and plasma protein products.
Chapitre 8, Épreuves prétransfusionnelles. Ce chapitre décrit le processus des tests pré-transfusionnels qui garantissent la compatibilité entre le patient transfusé et les composants sanguins destinés à la transfusion.

Best practices

Serological best practices: ABO Subgroups. This document clarifies the relevance of ABO subgroups for hospital blood banks selecting a red blood cell unit for transfusion, and the importance of working with Canadian Blood Services to investigate potential donors with an ABO subgroup.
Pratiques à suivre en matière de sérologie: Sous-groupes du système ABO. L’objet du présent document est de définir la pertinence des sous-groupes du système ABO pour le personnel des banques de sang en milieu hospitalier qui doit choisir l’unité de culot globulaire à transfuser pour tel patient, ainsi que de souligner l’importance de la collaboration avec la Société canadienne du sang durant la recherche de donneurs potentiels d’un sous-groupe en particulier.
Signalement des réactions transfusionnelles indésirables: Déclaration des réactions transfusionnelles indésirables. Le présent guide, destiné aux établissements hospitaliers canadiens (sauf au Québec), explique les procédures de déclaration des réactions transfusionnelles indésirables.

Publications

Jumelage de patients atteints d’anémie falciforme selon le phénotype et période de conservation du sang : examen et recommandations aux fins transfusionnelles. Thérapie transfusionnelle chez les patients atteints d’anémie falciforme
L’exploration des frontières de l’hémolyse associée aux IgIV.Le symposium pédagogique organisé par la Société canadienne de médecine transfusionnelle et CSL Behring vise à combler ces lacunes. Jacob Pendergrast et Donald Branch y présentent l’incidence et les facteurs de risque de l’hémolyse associée aux IgIV, et explorent les nouvelles avancées en matière de prévention et d’atténuation de ce type d’hémolyse.

Research Unit

Donating blood before pregnancy is safe for mothers and babies.
To better understand the potential impact of repeated blood donation by women, this study examined if there is an association between blood donations in female donors of child-bearing age and a risk of poor outcomes in the mother or her baby

2019 System Progress Data Released

Canadian Blood Services is excited to share a new dashboard for reporting national performance data on organ donation and transplantation in Canada. This interactive online format replaces our previous annual system progress report publication.

In the news

Canadian Blood Services' lab is testing thousands of blood samples per day for COVID-19 antibodies (Canadian Blood Services)
Using plasma to treat COVID-19 still in question after clinical trial results. However, findings of clinical trial in India aren't discouraging Canadian researchers (CBC)
Canadian Blood Services' chief scientist, Dr. Dana Devine, was a co-author on one of two recently published studies that suggest people with blood type O may have lower risk of Covid-19 infection and severe illness (CNN)

R.E.D. Blog posts

Challenges 2020: Lay Science Writing Competition now open!

Improving transfusion practice through serology education

Tracking the prevalence of COVID-19 at top speed

Norman Bethune Symposium 2020

New publications

Each month we feature recent publications from the Canadian Blood Services’ research and education network. At the heart of this network are our staff scientists and medical experts, whose expertise range from microbiology to immunology, coagulation to cryopreservation, hematopathology to anesthesiology and much more. Learn more about Our Research Team.

The impact of COVID-19 on the Canadian Kidney Paired Donation program: an opportunity for universal implementation of kidney shipping.
McGregor TB, Sener A, Yetzer K, Gillrie C, Paraskevas S.Can J Surg. 2020 Sep-Oct;63(5):E451-E453.PMID: 33026312

Persistence of serum and saliva antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 spike antigens in COVID-19 patients.
Isho B, Abe KT, Zuo M, Jamal AJ, Rathod B, Wang JH, Li Z, Chao G, Rojas OL, Bang YM, Pu A, Christie-Holmes N, Gervais C, Ceccarelli D, Samavarchi-Tehrani P, Guvenc F, Budylowski P, Li A, Paterson A, Yue FY, Marin LM, Caldwell L, Wrana JL, Colwill K, Sicheri F, Mubareka S, Gray-Owen SD, Drews SJ, Siqueira WL, Barrios-Rodiles M, Ostrowski M, Rini JM, Durocher Y, McGeer AJ, Gommerman JL, Gingras AC. Sci Immunol. 2020 Oct 8;5(52):eabe5511. doi: 10.1126/sciimmunol.abe5511.PMID: 33033173

The association of ABO blood group with indices of disease severity and multiorgan dysfunction in COVID-19.
Hoiland RL, Fergusson NA, Mitra AR, Griesdale DEG, Devine DV, Stukas S, Cooper J, Thiara S, Foster D, Chen LYC, Lee AYY, Conway EM, Wellington CL, Sekhon MS. Blood Adv. 2020 Oct 27;4(20):4981-4989. doi: 10.1182/bloodadvances.2020002623.PMID: 33057633

Factors associated with registrant availability for unrelated adult donor hematopoietic stem cell donation: Analysis of the stem cell registry at Canadian Blood Services.
Monaghan M, Yi QL, Green M, Campbell T, Weiss JT, Dibdin N, Mercer D, Elmoazzen H, Allan DS. Transfusion. 2020 Oct 21. doi: 10.1111/trf.16129. Online ahead of print.PMID: 33084098

Risk analysis of transfusion of cryoprecipitate without consideration of ABO group.
Hadjesfandiari N, Levin E, Serrano K, Yi QL, Devine DV. Transfusion. 2020 Oct 10. doi: 10.1111/trf.16125. Online ahead of print.PMID: 3303766

Stabilization of Lipid Membranes through Partitioning of the Blood Bag Plasticizer Di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP).
Bider RC, Lluka T, Himbert S, Khondker A, Qadri SM, Sheffield WP, Rheinstädter MC. Langmuir. 2020 Oct 13;36(40):11899-11907. doi: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.0c01964..PMID: 32903014

New insights into IVIg mechanisms and alternatives in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.
Norris PAA, Kaur G, Lazarus AH. Curr Opin Hematol. 2020 Nov;27(6):392-398. doi: 10.1097/MOH.0000000000000609.PMID: 32868670

Exploring the components of bleeding outcomes in transfusion trials for patients with hematologic malignancy.
Balitsky AK, Liu Y, Van der Meer PF, Heddle NM, Arnold DM. Transfusion. 2020 Oct 13. doi: 10.1111/trf.16126. PMID: 33047878

Patient engagement in a Canadian consensus forum for heart donation after circulatory determination of death.
Healey A, van Beinum A, Hornby L, Wilson LC, Bédard S, Berrigan H, Brodrecht D, Gillrie C, Shing T, Towers J, Tilokee E, Shemie SD. Can J Anaesth. 2020 Oct 7. doi: 10.1007/s12630-020-01808-z. PMID: 33025456

Transient warming affects potency of cryopreserved cord blood units.
Pasha R, Howell A, Turner TR, Halpenny M, Elmoazzen H, Acker JP, Pineault N. Cytotherapy. 2020 Nov;22(11):690-697. doi: 10.1016/j.jcyt.2020.04.039. PMID: 32591113

Efficacy and safety of tranexamic acid in acute traumatic brain injury: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized-controlled trials.
Lawati KA, Sharif S, Maqbali SA, Rimawi HA, Petrosoniak A, Belley-Cote EP, Sharma SV, Morgenstern J, Fernando SM, Owen JJ, Zeller M, Quinlan D, Alhazzani W, Rochwerg B. Intensive Care Med. 2020 Oct 20. doi: 10.1007/s00134-020-06279-w. PMID: 33079217

TACO-BEL-3: a feasibility study and a retrospective audit of diuretics for patients receiving blood transfusion at ten hospitals.
Khandelwal A, Lin Y, Cserti-Gazdewich C, Al Moosawi M, Armali C, Arnold D, Callum J, Dallas KL, Lieberman L, Pavenski K, Rioux-Massé B, Shehata N, Shih AW, Pendergrast J. Vox Sang. 2020 Oct 26. doi: 10.1111/vox.12994. PMID: 33103789

The utility of a monocyte monolayer assay in the assessment of intravenous immunoglobulin-associated hemolysis.
Tong TN, Blacquiere M, Sakac D, Burke-Murphy E, Yi Q, Callum J, Cserti-Gazdewich C, Parmar N, Shehata N, Pavenski K, Lau W, Lin Y, Lieberman L, Branch DR, Pendergrast J. Transfusion. 2020 Oct 22. doi: 10.1111/trf.16131. PMID: 33091964

Impact of donor sodium levels on clinical outcomes in liver transplant recipients: a systematic review.
Basmaji J, Hornby L, Rochwerg B, Luke P, Ball IM. Eur J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2020 Dec;32(12):1489-1496. doi: 10.1097/MEG.0000000000001776.PMID: 32804851

Transfusion-related Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection: A multicenter prospective cohort study among pediatric recipients of hematopoietic stem cell transplants (TREASuRE study).
Enok Bonong PR, Buteau C, Delage G, Tanner JE, Lacroix J, Duval M, Laporte L, Tucci M, Robitaille N, Spinella PC, Cuvelier G, Vercauteren S, Lewis V, Fearon M, Drews SJ, Alfieri C, Trottier H. Transfusion. 2020 Oct 22. doi: 10.1111/trf.16149. PMID: 33089891

SCAR: The high-prevalence antigen 013.008 in the Scianna blood group system.
Srivastava K, Albasri J, Alsuhaibani OM, Aljasem HA, Bueno MU, Antonacci T, Branch DR, Denomme GA, Flegel WA. Transfusion. 2020 Oct 24. doi: 10.1111/trf.16152. PMID: 33098316

Antithrombotics from Frog Skin Secretions.
Ni H. Thromb Haemost. 2020 Oct;120(10):1351. doi: 10.1055/s-0040-1715898. PMID: 32906156

Complete Genome Sequences of Two Distinct Strains of Serratia marcescens Isolated from Contaminated Platelet Concentrates from Canadian Donors.
Diamandas A, Razon RM, Sykes E, Kumar A, Ramirez-Arcos S, Brassinga AKC. Microbiol Resour Announc. 2020 Oct 8;9(41):e00829-20. doi: 10.1128/MRA.00829-20.PMID: 33033127

Transient loss of membrane integrity following intracellular ice formation in dimethyl sulfoxide-treated hepatocyte and endothelial cell monolayers.
William N, Acker JP. Cryobiology. 2020 Oct 6:S0011-2240(20)30323-0. doi: 10.1016/j.cryobiol.2020.10.002. PMID: 33031823

Translating bioactive peptides for COVID-19 therapy.
Bhullar KS, Drews SJ, Wu J. Eur J Pharmacol. 2020 Oct 21:173661. doi: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2020.173661. PMID: 33098835

Evaluating blood product quality post expiry to mitigate blood shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada.
Turner TR, Olafson C, Mykhailova O, Xu A, Acker JP. Transfusion. 2020 Oct 3. doi: 10.1111/trf.16136. PMID: 33009667

The efficacy of ice recrystallization inhibitors in rat lung cryopreservation using a low cost technique for ex vivo subnormothermic lung perfusion.
Lautner L, Himmat S, Acker JP, Nagendran J. Cryobiology. 2020 Oct 5:S0011-2240(20)30355-2. doi: 10.1016/j.cryobiol.2020.10.001. PMID: 33031822

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Developed in collaboration with Canadian Blood Services' Centre for Innovation. Please share your feedback with centreforinnovation@blood.ca

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