Speaker: Mr. Oliver Bleicher, the Production Manager for British Columbia and Yukon at Canadian Blood Services (CBS).
Canadian Blood Services is an independent, not-for-profit charitable organization established in 1998. It is responsible for providing safe and reliable access to blood, plasma, stem cells, and organs and tissues for patients across Canada, excluding Quebec.
Canadian Blood Services is an independent, not-for-profit charitable organization established in 1998. It is responsible for providing safe and reliable access to blood, plasma, stem cells, and organs and tissues for patients across Canada, excluding Quebec.
Funded primarily by provincial and territorial governments, CBS operates 35 permanent donor centres and over 4,000 mobile donor centres nationwide, collecting blood, plasma, and platelet donations at more than 13,000 events annually.
Mr. Bleicher is a mechanical engineer with 30 years of experience in the automotive and production industries. Before joining Canadian Blood Services, he worked at ZF in Germany, the U.S., and South America, where he served as Head of Production.
Focusing on blood, plasma, stem cells, and organ tissues, Oliver oversees operations in Western Canada and the Yukon. Canadian Blood Services employs approximately 4,000 staff members and 17,000 volunteers across the country. Plasma donor centres in Canada produce only 40% of the required plasma; the remaining 60% is primarily purchased from the U.S., where donors are paid to donate. In Canada, it is against the rules to pay for blood donations. CBS ensures Canadians have access to safe, high-quality blood and supplies frozen plasma to companies that process it into medication. CBS then receives a significant discount when purchasing these medications.
CBS also manages a national stem cell donor registry and coordinates the organ-sharing registry.
In Vancouver, there is a laboratory with a production line where blood donations from across British Columbia are processed overnight. All blood products are temperature-controlled throughout the process. Upon arrival, the donations are assessed by blood group and weight through approximately 30 steps, including separation of plasma and red cells via centrifugation. Some units require irradiation using ultraviolet light to ensure safety.
This comprehensive process ensures sterile, enclosed blood products reach 75 hospitals across the province and territories. However, there is an urgency, as blood products expire quickly. Challenges arise when ferries are shut down, potentially causing hundreds of units to be lost. While CBS works with shipping companies like UPS and FedEx, all transport boxes are Health Canada-certified and sealed. Blood products must arrive at hospitals within 24 hours; even a one-minute delay results in product discard.
Last year, over 1.3 million blood units were processed. Despite this, only 2% of Canadians donate blood, with donation rates in Vancouver particularly low. As British Columbia's population grows, the demand for blood continues to increase.
For more information, visit www.blood.ca
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