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The TraQ newsletter is back! We've been unable to send a newsletter since March due to moving to a new server and transitioning to a new content management system with associated challenges. Trust you missed us, she said ROTFL.

The June newsletter includes these highlights:

International news featuring:

• General:
  • Sharing of disaster stories on 'BB Talk'
  • Fatalities reported to FDA following blood collection & transfusion: 2010 summary
  • Apparent case of platelet transfusions triggering anaphylaxis in a patient with peanut allergies
  • World anti-doping lab looks for test to detect plasticizers from blood bags
• Canada:
  • BloodTechnet's Learning Competition (See who won)
  • CBS seeks ethnic blood, cord blood, and organ donors
• Ongoing news of selling blood on black market (Bulgaria & Tanzania)
• UK: European directive 'bans blood donations after US trips' over fears of WNV; Calls to lift ban on gay men donating blood
• USA: Study finds that that gay men account for nearly 70% of all new HIV/AIDS diagnoses among adolescents & and young adults

Diseases: CFS's link to XMRV seems increasingly unlikely

Industry news featuring 2 ends of the spectrum: Leading drug maker stops funding doctors' travel to congresses; US Army probes industry payments to military doctors

Literature: Many interesting additions inc. papers on informed consent & patient understanding of transfusion, professionalism in the digital age, and research showing that maternal antibodies disappear earlier than thought from infant circulation

Resource library: Resources from IBMS in the UK: Giving results over the telephone; Guidance to the role of the laboratory quality manager

New TM blog: "Shine a light" (Musings on what we take for granted & shouldn't)

We mourn the passing of John J. Moulds, MT(ASCP)SBB, who died of cancer on 13 June, 2011. A great blood banker regarded with respect and affection by colleagues worldwide.

and much more...

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June 27, 2011
Pat Letendre, TraQ coordinator

TraQ Newsletter - June 2011

INDEX

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

• TraQ home | BC PBCO website
• 2011 Education Session on Blood Transfusion Issues (September 28, 2011 in Castlegar, BC)
  • Presented by BC PBCO & CBS in conjunction with BCSLS Congress

For the latest news see What's new - chronological

General

• John J. Moulds, MT(ASCP)SBB, dies of cancer at 67
• Disaster experiences shared (Came across this thread on BBTalk and, while stories are anecdotal, many of the insights are worth considering.)
• Fatalities reported to FDA following blood collection and transfusion: annual summary for fiscal year 2010 (31 May 2011)
• Research employing electrical properties to distinguish new from old red cells may have clinical uses (18 May 2011) [Also see Huang, et al. in Journals below]
• Can platelet transfusions trigger severe reactions in those with peanut allergies? (18 May 2011)
• Jacobs JFM, et al. Anaphylaxis from passive transfer of peanut allergen, in a blood product. N Engl J Med 2011 May 19: 364(20): 1981-2.
• Off-label use of F VIIa soars (18 April 2011)
• Supervisory positions in histology and blood banks hard to fill (Dark Report, 25 April 2011)
• Examining the safety of transfusing older red cells (23 April 2011)
• World anti-doping lab looks for test to detect plasticizers from blood bags (20 April 2011)

Canadian

• BC PBCO & CBS: 2011 Education Session on Blood Transfusion Issues (September 28, 2011 in Castlegar, BC)
  • Presented in conjunction with BCSLS Congress
• BloodTechnet announces winners of Learning Competition
• CBS
  • CBS issues rallying cry to Canadians (13 June 2011)
  • CBS seeks ethnic minorities to boost donor lists (13 June 2011)
  • National cord blood bank to recruit ethnic donors aggressively

International

Australia

• Hemoglobin-based experimental blood substitute (HBOC-201) from the USA saves Jehovah’s Witness (5 May 2011)
• Walk-in military blood bank in Afghanistan (3 May 2011)
• Aussie helicopter paramedics first to carry own blood supply (26 April 2011)

Bulgaria

• Black market in blood flourishes (24 May 2011)

Germany

• Blood supply secure despite E. coli outbreak (3 June 2011) | Also see Hemolytic uremic syndrome

Mexico

• Blood donors in short supply amid drug war (5 May 2011)

Portugal

• Portugal lacks plasma processing facility (18 June 2011)

Tanzania

• Selling blood for survival on the rise (25 June 2011)

UK

• NHSBT: Organ donor registry passes 18 million (23 June 2011)
• EC directive 'bans blood donations after US trips' (14 June 2011)
• Calls to lift ban on gay men giving blood (12 June 2011)
  • Exclusion of MSM from donating blood (NHSBT policy statement, 11 April 2011)
• Government launches 'listening exercises' to modernise NHS

USA

• FDA issues new warnings for anemia drugs in kidney disease (24 June 2011)
  • FDA modifies dosing recommendations for Erythropoiesis-Stimulating Agents (24 June 2011)
• Army probes big pharma payments to military doctors (20 June 2011)
  • Army again probing Novo Nordisk's Fort Sam payments (15 June 2011)
• Gay men in relationships have higher risk of transmitting HIV than men who have more casual sex. (7 June 2011)
• HIV Surveillance — United States, 1981-­2008 (MMWR 2011 Jun 3;60(21)
  • 20% don't know they are infected
  • Each year 50,000 more become infected

*Also see TraQ's Canadian Regional News and International News

Diseases in the News

• CFS not caused by virus, scientists announce (21 June 2011)
• Science papers ‘cast further doubt’ on XMRV’s link to CFS (31 May 2011)

* Also see TraQ's Disease clearinghouses

Industry News

• AstraZeneca: End of the 'gravy train' for docs?
  • AstraZeneca 1st leading drug maker to stop funding doctors' travel to medical congresses - See Sales & Marketing Practice
• Novo Nordisk: Army probes big pharma payments to military doctors (20 June 2011)
• Taiga Biotechnologies: Colorado firm develops method to generate adult rbc from proprietary stem-cell lines from cord blood in 14 days (6 June 2011)
• Grifols, Talecris reach agreement with U.S. antitrust officials on merger (2 May 2011)
• Johnson & Johnson - looking for a band-aid to combat business woes (The Economist, 20 April 2011)

* Also see TraQ's Industry News

Resource Library / Links

• TM blog: "Shine a light" (Musings on what we take for granted & shouldn't)
• Twitter for docs, a guide for health care for professionals (blog)
• UK IBMS: 
  • Giving results over the telephone
  • Guidance to the role of the pathology quality manager
  • Earning reflective practice CPD points from visits to congress exhibition

*Also see TraQ's Resource Library | Nursing resources | Literature clearinghouses | Links | Continuing education | Jobs | Video library | Calendar of events

Journals, Newsletters, etc.

• Court EL, Robinson JA, Hocken DB . Informed consent and patient understanding of blood transfusion. Transfus Med 2011;21(3):183-9, June 2011.
• Goddard K, Shabestari O, Kay JD, Roudsari A. Formatively evaluating the importance of different aspects of an electronic blood transfusion system from the end users' point of view: a questionnaire study. Stud Health Technol Inform. 2010;160(Pt 2):1211-5.
• Huang YX, Wu ZJ, Mehrishi J, Huang BT, Chen XY, Zheng XJ, Liu WJ, Luo M. Human red blood cell aging: correlative changes in surface charge and cell properties. J Cell Mol Med 2011 Mar 21. [Epub ahead of print]
• Karp JK, Weston CM, King KE. Transfusion medicine in American undergraduate medical education. Transfusion. 2011 May 4. [Epub ahead of print]
• Khalid S, Usman M, Khurshid M. Acute transfusion reactions encountered in patients at a tertiary care center. J Pak Med Assoc 2010 Oct;60(10):832-6.
• Krog GR, Clausen FB, Berkowicz A, Jørgensen L, Rieneck K, Nielsen LK, Dziegiel MH. Is current serologic RhD typing of blood donors sufficient for avoiding immunization of recipients? Transfusion 2011 May 13. [Epub ahead of print]
• Mostaghimi A, Crotty BH. Professionalism in the digital age. Ann Intern Med. 2011 Apr 19;154(8):560-2.
• Shaikh S, Sloan SR. Clearance of maternal isohemagglutinins from infant circulation. Transfusion 2011 May;51:938-42. e-Pub: 26 Oct 2010.
• Strobel E, Betten S. Novel aspects in the evaluation of an automated blood group analyser. Transfus Med 2011;21(3):205-8, June 2011.
• Wallis JP. Strategies to reduce transfusion acquired vCJD. Transfus Med. 2011 Feb;21(1):1-6.

If TraQ is useful, please let us know: Contact: TraQAdmin@traqprogram.ca