November 19, 1997 ... The Toronto Hospital announced today the establishment of Canada's first blood conservation program. The Toronto Hospital Blood Conservation and Utilization Program will track and monitor all blood, blood products and blood alternatives as they are used. All data pertaining to the use and utilization of blood and blood products will be centralized in a computerized database. The data will provide utilization analysis, indicators for transfusion and clinical outcomes. The program will also assess new therapies and alternatives as they become available and provide education and analysis to physicians ordering the transfusion. "We want to increase the awareness levels of physicians and patients to blood conservation techniques, transfusion alternatives and the appropriate and inappropriate use of blood," says Dr. Graham Sher, Medical Director of the Blood Transfusion Service at The Toronto Hospital. "We also want to meet the growing demand from the public and our patients to find new alternatives to blood transfusion." Dr. Sher says a number of factors have led to the establishment of the Blood Conservation and Utilization Program: blood and blood products are a scarce resource resulting in an increasingly and persistent shortage which, at times, has resulted in cancellations of medical and surgical procedures the need for a more efficient use of blood, blood products and alternatives the ongoing concern about the safety of blood transfusion the growing demand from patients for blood transfusion alternatives the need to set standards for blood use and utilization "The centralized database will enable us to develop Canadian benchmarks for blood use and utilization and help set new standards for blood use," Dr. Sher says. "The data will also provide a strong foundation for ongoing research in the field of transfusion medicine," he adds. "In the end, we hope to see improved patient care." Funding for this program was provided by both corporate sources (pharmaceutical firm Janssen-Ortho Inc. of Toronto is providing $70,000 for the program) and The Toronto Hospital.
For more information, contact Josey Panetta,
Senior Media Relations Officer, The Toronto Hospital, the Ontario Cancer
Institute/Princess Margaret Hospital
at 416-340-3303