Transfusion Transmitted Injuries Section
Background Information

Blood transfusion, like other medical procedures, carries some risk of adverse events among recipients. These include both transmission of infectious diseases and noninfectious adverse events. The latter may occur as a result of errors in handling or administering blood and blood products. Currently, as a result of donor screening and new test procedures, the risk of transmission of known infectious agents is extremely low; however, because blood is a biological product, unknown and emerging pathogens will always pose a threat to its safety.

After the contamination of the blood supply with HIV and hepatitis C virus from the late 1970s through the 1980s, Justice Krever (in the Report of the Commission of Inquiry on the Blood System in Canada, 1993-1997) emphasized the importance of blood surveillance for the safety of blood.

In response to Justice Krever's report in 1997, the federal government launched a series of initiatives and provided additional resources to further strengthen the safety of Canada's blood system. The Centre for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control (CIDPC) (then LCDC) was allocated additional funding to carry out national blood surveillance activities. In March 1998, the Surveillance and Epidemiology of Transfusions (SET) working group was created to develop a plan and design a program for a comprehensive blood surveillance system for Canada.

The Transfusion Transmitted Injuries (TTI) section of the Health Care Acquired Infections Division in CIDPC was assigned to carry out activities to support the development of a national blood transfusion surveillance system. Surveillance is a major component and an important approach for any disease/injury prevention and control program. An effective surveillance system for recipients of blood and blood products will provide information to assess the magnitude of new or emerging risks, monitor the trends of known risks, and evaluate the effectiveness of actions taken to reduce the risks.

[Blood Safety Surveillance and Health Care Acquired Infections Division]