A national blood contribution monitoring program, established after one of the country’s worst public health disasters, is soon coming to an end. It’s a decision being met with strong criticism from several health experts, patients and advocacy groups.
“This is just wrong on so many levels,” said Terri-Lynn Langdon, who lives with a bleeding disorder and must sign for blood products every time she has a medical procedure. “I want to know that those blood products I receive are safe.”
While all blood is routinely screened before transfusions there’s another safeguard ensuring blood safety, also known as hemovigilance, designed to collect data in an effort to detect transfusion injuries or errors.
The Blood Safety Contribution Program (BSCP) is a national system or database which tracks any adverse effects of transfusions reported by provinces and territories from coast to coast.
The system was created after the tainted blood scandal in the 1980s when thousands of Canadians were exposed to HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C through blood transfusions, which at the time, eroded public trust in the system.
“It came out of what’s known as the Krever Commission or Inquiry which reported in 1997,” explained David Page, a blood safety and supply consultant for the Canadian Hemophilia Society. “What was determined then is that we needed a national system to look for new pathogens so we catch them before they enter the blood supply.”
Decision to end program being met with strong opposition
The establishment of the BSCP was one of many changes made after the Krever Inquiry which revamped the entire blood donation system leading to the creation of Canadian Blood Services, and in Quebec: Héma-Québec, both of which put stronger screening, reporting and other safeguards in place to ensure a safe blood supply.
But Page said, while rare, transfusion errors or injuries can and do still occur and he worries plans announced by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) to sundown the BSCP in March of 2026, which was quietly announced in August, could lead to problems.
“If you don’t have a national system to look at all the events across the country and even internationally, then you may not pick up emerging trends.”
Page isn’t alone—a multitude of voices, from Clinical Hematologists to The Canadian Society for Transfusion Medicine (CSTM) have sent letters urging Public Health to reconsider. There is also an online petition which has so far garnered more than 1,300 signatures.
“The federal health system should continue to provide effective leadership and governance for a national hemovigilance system and should define the scope and elements of that system,” the CSTM Board of Directors wrote in a letter to PHAC. “The need for national leadership and coordination is important to ensure consistent implementation across the country.”
Blood safety will not be impacted, public health says
In its very first public statement on its decision to sundown the program, the health agency said the BSCP does not fit within the evolving priorities of the agency saying there are already enough safeguards in place to ensure Canada’s blood supply remains one of the safest in the world.
“A formal evaluation of the BSCP found that existing regulations and reporting requirements under Health Canada or provincial and territorial jurisdiction are sufficient,” said spokesperson André Gagnon.
PHAC said Health Canada already has mandatory reporting protocols in place for unexpected and serious adverse transfusion reactions and infections.
“In addition, Canadian Blood Services and Héma-Québec will continue to manage and protect the Canadian blood supply.”
Both organizations are responsible for collecting, testing, manufacturing, purchasing and distributing blood products. They also report all unexpected and serious adverse transfusion reactions to Health Canada.
Critics, however, say even with the BSCP in place, Canada’s blood safety monitoring is already inadequate due to years of dwindling federal funding for the program which went from $4 million in the late 90s to just more than $2 million today. They argue the program needs to be better funded, not dismantled.
“Few provinces and territories actually have a database infrastructure in place to collect adverse transfusion reaction data,” the CSTM Board wrote in its letter to PHAC. “The impending lack of a national adverse transfusion reaction database threatens future data collection.”
Public health plans national conference on ‘path forward’
Gagnon said PHAC and Health Canada will continue to work with external stakeholders to prepare for the conclusion of the BSCP.
“PHAC will fund a national consensus conference on hemovigilance during the first quarter of 2026.”
He says the conference will bring together key provinces and territories, federal agencies, clinicians, patient partners, and academics, to discuss Canada’s hemovigilance system and further plan for the path forward, following the conclusion of the BSCP.
“PHAC will participate in an advisory capacity throughout the conference to help guide the discussions and ensure alignment with national public health priorities.”
Those against the decision, however, remain steadfast in their fight to save the program, from medical experts to the very patients who rely on blood products.
“I’m really hoping that PHAC will reverse its decision,” Langdon said. “We don’t want a repeat of the crisis in the 80’s and we don’t want this to go quietly. A lot of folks don’t know about this issue and it’s very important.”
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