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On behalf of everyone at TraQ, Happy 2012!

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December's newsletter includes these highlights:

International news featuring:

• General
  • Patrick Mollison, a giant of transfusion medicine, dead at 97
  • AABB Standards, proposed ed. 28 (Open for comment until 5 Mar. 2012)
  • Future of stem cell therapy (neat overview from UK physician)
  • Study finds need for blood is less post-surgery
  • Herbert Polesky, medical director of Memorial Blood Centers in Minnesota for 35 years, dead at 78
  • Breakthrough with gene therapy for hemophilia B
  • Newborn deaths from necrotising enterocolitis linked to AB blood type
• Canada
  • Bloodtechnet learning competition returns Feb. 3rd, 2012
• Australia
  • Review of blood system concludes reforms are needed / Reports include 
    • 'Analysis of cost drivers and trends in the blood sector' & 'Options to manage appropriate use of blood & blood products'
• India
  • Wrong blood transfusion could not have caused patient's death
• UK
  • 79 yr-old patient sent home with blood transfusion cannula still in arm
  • 2012 special events may hit blood stocks
  • Govt. plans to share confidential patient records with researchers unless patients opt out
• USA
  • Small Florida blood bank urges state to halt planned merger of 3 largest blood centers

Industry news:

• Entire human genome available for $1000 US

Diseases in the news:

• Hepatitis C
  • USA: CDC reports HCV transmission via transplants

Resource library:

• Presentations from UK's National External Quality Assessment Service (NEQAS)
• New TM blog: Stand by me (Musings on bullying by health professionals)

Journals:

• Papers that stimulated news, as well as an interesting study by Canadian researchers that reveals how stakeholders in the blood system think differently about risk.

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January 12, 2011
Pat Letendre, TraQ coordinator

TraQ Newsletter - December 2011

INDEX

TraQ & BC PBCO | Global News | Diseases | Industry News | Resource Library - Links | Journals

• TraQ home | BC PBCO

For the latest news see What's new - chronological

General

• Patrick Mollison, a giant of transfusion medicine, dead at 97
• AABB Standards, proposed ed. 28 (Open for comment until 5 Mar. 2012)
  • Also see Standards library
• Future of stem cell therapy (12 Jan. 2012)
• Study finds need for blood is less post-surgery (19 Dec. 2011) Also see Journals below
• Herbert Polesky, medical director of Memorial Blood Centers for 35 years, dead at 78
• Breakthrough with gene therapy for hemophilia B (10 Dec. 2011)
  • Gene therapy for hemophilia B has early success in  small study (University College, London) (inc. nice video)
  • Full free text: Nathwani AC, et al.  Adenovirus-associated virus vector-mediated gene transfer in hemophilia B. N Engl J Med 2011 Dec. 10 (Published online)
• Newborn deaths from necrotising enterocolitis linked to AB blood type (23 Nov. 2011)
  • Thomson T, Habeeb O, Dechristopher PJ, Glynn L, Yong S, Muraskas J. Decreased survival in necrotizing enterocolitis is significantly associated with neonatal and maternal blood group: the AB isoagglutinin hypothesis. J Perinatol. 2011 Nov 17. [Epub ahead of print]

Canada

• Bloodtechnet learning competition returns Feb. 3rd, 2012

Australia

• Review of blood system concludes reforms are needed (9 Jan. 2012)
• Direct link to Reports: Analysis of cost drivers and trends in the blood sector / Options to manage appropriate use of blood & blood products

India

• Wrong blood transfusion could not have caused patient's death (4 Jan. 2012)

UK

• 79 yr-old patient sent home with blood transfusion cannula still in arm (12 Jan. 2012)
• 2012 special events may hit blood stocks (28 Dec. 2011)
• Govt. plans to share confidential patient records with researchers automatically unless patients opt out (The Register, 6 Dec. 2011)
  • DOH: Government boost to world leading UK life science industry (5 Dec. 2011)
  • Political "collaboration" with drug companies (blog by Glasgow GP) (4 Dec. 2011)

USA

• Small Florida blood bank urges state to halt planned merger of 3 largest blood centers (5 Jan. 2012)
• Court rules that prohibiting payment for organ donation does not apply to stem cells extracted from blood (1 Dec. 2011)
  • Court ruling: Flynn, et al. v. Holder Jr.

• Entire human genome for $1000 US (10 Jan. 2012)

* Also see TraQ's Industry News

• USA: CDC reports HCV transmission via transplants (22 Dec. 2011)
  • Transmission of hepatitis C virus through transplanted organs and tissue — Kentucky and Massachusetts, 2011. MMWR 2011 Dec 23; 60(50);1697-1700.

* Also see TraQ's 'Disease clearinghouses' in top menu

UK: Presentations from NEQAS, 17 Nov. 2011

NEW TM blog: Stand by me (Musings on bullying by health professionals)

*See TraQ's Resource Library | Nursing resources | Literature clearinghouses | Links | Continuing education | Jobs | Video library

Free full text | (* 1 or more Canadian authors)

• Carson JL, et al. and the FOCUS Investigators. Liberal or restrictive transfusion in high-risk patients after hip surgery. N Engl J Med. 2011 Dec 29;365(26):2453-62. Epub 2011 Dec 14.
  • Barr PJ, Bailie KEM. Transfusion thresholds in focus (editorial) N Engl J Med 2011 Dec 29; 365(26):2532-3.
• * Eyles J, Heddle N, Webert K, Arnold E, McCurdy B. Do expert assessments converge? An exploratory case study of evaluating and managing a blood supply risk. BMC Public Health. 2011 Aug 24;11:666.
  • A case study of a major blood withdrawal in Ontario, Canada involving 1000s of blood components caused by a clerical issue with records of donation, with likely a minimal or no risk to the blood supply.
  • Quotations from study participants reveal a spectrum of opinions by the different players on risk as hazard, liability, and precaution.
• Milligan C, Higginson I, Smith JE. Emergency department staff knowledge of massive transfusion for trauma: the need for an evidence based protocol. Emerg Med J 2011 Oct;28(10):870-2.
• Nathwani AC, et al.  Adenovirus-associated virus vector-mediated gene transfer in hemophilia B. N Engl J Med 2011 Dec. 10
  • Gene therapy for hemophilia B has early success in  small study (University College, London) (inc. nice video)
• Pillonel J, Heraud-Bousquet V, Pelletier B, Semaille C, Velter A, Saura C, Desenclos JC, Danic B; the blood donor epidemiological surveillance study group. Deferral from donating blood of men who have sex with men: impact on the risk of HIV transmission by transfusion in France. Vox Sang 2012 Jan;102(1): 13–21. [Pub. online Jun 21]