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Results for “Canadian Red Cross”

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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1993

Unrelated bone marrow transplantation in Canada, the national experience. Canadian Red Cross Society.

The Canadian Unrelated Bone Marrow Donor Registry (UBMDR) of the Canadian Red Cross Society (CRCS) was officially funded as of April 1, 1989 for an initial three year period with a mandate to recruit 50,000 unrelated bone marrow donors and to conduct the search activities for unrelated bone marrow donors worldwide on behalf of Canadian patients. Since February of 1988, 162 unrelated bone marrow transplants have been carried out in Canada. The registry now stands at an enrollment of 35,705 with approximately 1,200 donors being added monthly. Recruitment of unrelated bone marrow donors is now established in fourteen Canadian cities, and an active ethnic recruitment is now in progress.

Bone Marrow Transplantation↗

PubMed1991

The Canadian Red Cross plasmapheresis donor safety program: changes in plasma proteins after long-term plasmapheresis.

The Canadian Red Cross Blood Services have been harvesting plasma from whole blood by plasmapheresis procedure for the last 10 years. To date, we have performed approximately 230,000 procedures. To determine whether this procedure is a health hazard to an individual, a donor safety program was established in 1979 at the National Reference Laboratory. Serum levels of total protein, albumin, and immunoglobulins are monitored at intervals set by the Bureau of Biologics, Health and Welfare Canada. In this communication, we present a 10-year evaluation of this program. A comparison of the protein concentration distributions between first-time and long-term plasmapheresis donors showed no significant differences. Therefore, we have demonstrated that the donors are not at risk as the result of changes in the measured plasma protein levels following plasmapheresis procedure as performed over the last 10 years at The Canadian Red Cross Blood Services.

Blood Donors↗

PubMed1975

Hepatitis B surface antigen: regional variation in sub-type ratio in the Canadian Red Cross donor population.

A total of 344 sera positive for hepatitis B surface antigen from volunteer blood donors at several Canadian Red Cross centres were subtyped for ad and ay specificity by counterelectrophoresis. Of the 50 sera from Toronto 21 (42%) were ad and 29 (58%) were ay; of the 95 from Montreal 82 (86%) were ad and 13 (14%) were ay; of the 199 from Quebec 179 (90%) were ad and only 20 (10%) were ay. The w and r specificities were also determined in 125 of the samples: 123 were w; the 2 samples of r specificity were from Toronto. On the other hand, among 45 sera from patients with acute hepatitis type B in Quebec 13 (29%) were ad and 33 (71%) ay.

Acute Disease↗

PubMed1994

Proficiency testing of factor VIII:C activity assays at the Canadian Red Cross Society National Reference Laboratory.

A national proficiency testing program has been established to monitor the accuracy and precision of factor VIII:C (FVIII:C) assays performed at the various Blood Services Centres of the Canadian Red Cross Society involved in the collection and processing of either donor blood designated for component production or plasma destined for fractionation. This paper describes the preparation, design, and results of the first four exercises involving 19 laboratories. The exercises were designed to allow the investigation of intralaboratory variability between replicate samples and precision of assays as well as the causes of interlaboratory variability. The implementation of this program has led to improved precision and interlaboratory agreement on FVIII:C assays. These improvements were achieved mainly as a result of a modification in the method for sample dilution, an increase in both replicate testing of the same sample and the number of sample dilutions, and a reduction in the number of reagent systems used by various centres.

Canada↗

PubMed1995

Charles H. Best, the Canadian Red Cross Society, and Canada's first national blood donation program.

This article examines how Canada's first national blood donation program originated during World War II. It focuses on the genesis of Charles H. Best's serum project at the University of Toronto, and the federal government's decision in 1940 to sponsor it as the nation's most viable blood banking option. While Best's personal initiatives were crucial, his project's success was also a result of the larger scientific, political, and institutional circumstances of Canadian medicine. The article also analyzes why the federal government gave responsibility for blood collection to the Canadian Red Cross Society. It shows how the organization's traditional association with military medicine, its more recent involvement with community health services (including blood transfusion), and its flexible national structure suited it for this task. Moreover, Ottawa's willingness to assign this role to a volunteer agency was an indication of the structural deficiencies in Canada's primitive health-care system. The decisions of 1940 flowed from the immediate wartime pressures and individual initiatives. They reflected as well the deeper scientific, institutional, and cultural realities of the time.

Blood Banks↗

PubMed1992

Anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) screening at a Canadian Red Cross center: significance of a positive c100 HCV enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

The c100 hepatitis C virus (HCV) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) has been used to screen blood donors to prevent transfusion-associated non-A,non-B hepatitis. This test is not specific, and only about 25 percent of c100 HCV ELISA-positive blood samples appear to transmit hepatitis C. However, the intensity of the ELISA (sample/cutoff ratio [S/C], greater than 2) could identify a subpopulation of donors that are at high risk for transmitting hepatitis. Blood samples from 20,186 volunteer blood donors at a Canadian Red Cross blood transfusion center were screened for antibodies to HCV using the c100 HCV ELISA. Fifty-nine (0.3%) of these donors were repeatably reactive on ELISA. When their samples were tested with the c100 recombinant immunoblot assay (RIBA) and second-generation RIBA (RIBA-2), 26 (44%) and 31 (52%) samples, respectively, were found to be positive. Thirty-three of the 59 ELISA-reactive donors had an S/C greater than 2. Of these 33 donors, 30 (91%) had elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT), 27 (82%) were RIBA-2 positive, and 22 (67%) had risk factors for hepatitis. In contrast, of the 26 ELISA-reactive donors with S/C less than 2, only 7 (27%) had elevated ALT, and 4 (15%) were RIBA-2 positive and also had high risk factors for hepatitis. Thus, while the HCV ELISA may lack specificity, its intensity can serve to identify a subgroup of donors that are at high risk for transmitting hepatitis.

Adult↗

PubMed1983

Hepatitis B and the dental profession: response to hepatitis B vaccine in Canadian dental personnel. A study by the Canadian Red Cross Collaborative Group.

Reports from North America and Western Europe based on the prevalence of hepatitis B virus markers and frequency of hepatitis B in dentists indicate that this professional group is at increased risk of HBV infection. We gave hepatitis B vaccine (Merck Sharp and Dohme) to 251 dental students and faculty/staff members at faculties of dentistry in three Canadian universities. Participants received three 20 micrograms doses of vaccine, at 0, 1 and 5.5 months. Anti-HBs was detected in 42.9 per cent of persons after the first dose of vaccine, in 96.8 per cent after the second dose and in 99.6 per cent after the third dose. A follow-up of 150 persons 22 months after the first dose of vaccine indicated that high or medium levels of anti-HBs were maintained in nearly 87 per cent of the participants and only six per cent had no detectable antibody. Female vaccinees in each age group developed anti-HBs more promptly, and more of them were in the high antibody-response range in comparison to male participants. There were no unacceptable reactions to the vaccine. Our favourable experience with this vaccine would support recommendations for its routine use among dental professionals in Canada and other countries where this group is at increased risk of HBV infection.

Adult↗

PubMed1983