COMMUNITY LIAISON COMMITTEE, BC & YUKON SUMMARY NOTES of the meeting of the Canadian Blood Services held in Vancouver on Thursday, December 2, 2004 at 3:00 p.m. PRESENT: OBSERVING: REGRETS: Chad Milford, Co-Chair Patti Thorne, Co-Chair Heather Macintosh Janet Roocroft Lorna Tessier Elizabeth Minish Dr. Sam Krikler Julian Kerestezi Ken Donohue Ken Mcguire Lyle Unrau Mary MacDonald Melanie Rowe 1.0 OPENING OF THE MEETING Patti Thorne welcomed everyone to the meeting. Chad Milford welcomed Patti Thorne to the committee. 2.0 REVIEW OF AGENDA There was one additional item: 1. Review Draft Letters to Donors re: Upper Age Limit 3.0 APPROVAL OF SUMMARY NOTES The Minutes of July 22, 2004 were approved as circulated. 4.0 BUSINESS ARISING 4.1 NLC REPRESENTATIVE REPORT The National Liaison Committee Representative Report was distributed. A copy of the report will be attached to the Minutes. The next meeting of the NLC is February 7 th, 2005. Agenda items are to be emailed to Chad Milford. 4.2 WEST NILE VIRUS (WNV) UPDATE Canadian Blood Services has discontinued single unit testing for this year. Single unit testing was introduced as an added precaution for areas which were expected to have a WNV epidemic this summer. No units containing WNV were detected this year. It is a testament to CBS donor screening process. CBS will continue to test every unit of blood for WNV using mini-pool testing. CBS had a tremendous system across Canada and it will be there again next year to put single donor testing into place. Canada has one of the best contingency plans in place. Canadian Blood Services is seen as the WNV experts around the world. Chad stated that one radio station in Calgary announced that CBS was ready to begin single donor testing and that 10% of donors were tested for WNV. This statement was not true as 100% of donors get tested for WNV. Chad relayed the information to the Communication Specialist in Calgary. Page 1 of 6
5.0 NEW BUSINESS 5.1 Health Canada Regulations Overview Handouts on the presentation were distributed. The major regulator for Canadian Blood Services is Health Canada. It is regulated by the Blood Establishment Regulation Division, Biologics and Genetic Therapies Directorate (BGTD). The BGTD audits Canadian Blood Services annually. Changes to operations must be done through BGTD. Health Canada has the responsibility to protect both the donor and recipient. To implement new processes/test methods, a submission to BGTD must follow the requirements outlined by Health Canada. Submissions are defined as: Category I, II, III, IV. Regulatory Affairs at Head Office makes our submissions. Buffy Coat Production New manufacturing method to extract platelets will be piloted in BC. The new method will enhance safety. A greater yield of platelets will be recovered from each unit. There will be a 24 hour window in which to manufacture platelets. The pilot phase will start the beginning of May and will be implemented at the end of June. Ensure CBS is internationally as well as nationally compliant. 1. When CBS has new equipment, why not see what effect it will have and not what adverse effect? There is a significant potential to affect test results. 2. Was removal of the upper age limit a Category IV submission? Yes, it was. 3. Why does CBS not accept blood from hemachromatosis patients? There are two types of Hemachromatosis patients, i.e. 1) they are eligible to donate 2) they are at risk and can t donate. If a hemachromatosis patient is bled regularly at the hospital and the blood discarded, it would be difficult to obtain the records. It would be a real challenge to manage. CBS needs more information to satisfy Health Canada requirements. Some Hemachromatosis patients are currently donating at NetCAD, our research clinic. 4. Could the donation interval be changed to less than 56 days for hemachromatosis patients? This issue is still being investigated. 5.2 Diversity Report A presentation was given by Lorna Tessier on Canadian Blood Services Diversity Initiative Highlights of the presentation: Less than 4% of Canada s eligible population donates blood 13.4% of the Canadian population identified as visible minorities BC has the highest proportion of visible minorities By 2016, visible minorities will account for 20% of Canada s population Canada has a huge untapped area we are not reaching Research: Looked at four cities and five communities Hired DiversiPro to help with the survey 100 individuals were interviewed from all walks of life Page 2 of 6
Some information was gathered on how to approach all of these groups. - contacts - partnership opportunities through events and occasions - use media - social concerns (more education is needed) - sensitivities Six key contributors that have been identified are: Leadership, Program Selection, Marketing and Communications, Community Connections, Workplace, Hiring and Staffing. CBS has a commitment to focus on each of these areas CBS wants to ensure that we make a sustainable, long-term difference Have one dedicated EFT to develop a strategic plan Do a comprehensive study on what is already in place A Strategic Initiatives Proposal was submitted and now building a business case. Looking at philanthropic funding Looking at case studies Looking at gathering data on ethnic donors. Ethnic makeup of Bone Marrow Registry is 82% Caucasian Renewed focus on building community relationships An Interfaith pilot was done in Ontario which was very successful A copy of the Canadian Blood Services Diversity Initiative Research Overview Report will be attached to the minutes. : 1. Were there any specific challenges that came out of the ethnic community, i.e. superstitions that CBS needs to know about? Yes. The second generation wasn t as big a challenge as the first generation. Most groups thought education was one of the biggest factors limiting participation in the blood system. We also need to educate our regular donors about the relationship CBS has with ethnic groups. 2. Brochures, posters, etc are in English. Will information come in many languages? Yes, CBS will definitely be printing brochures in other languages. 5.3 Increase in Upper Age Limit Canadian Blood Services has removed the upper age restriction effective December 1, 2004. Very healthy donors, when they reach the age of 71 years, are extremely disappointed they can no longer donate. Older donors are extremely safe donors. Autologous donors are over the age of 71 years and do extremely well. New Criteria: - donor can be greater than 71 years old - external medical enquiry form to be filled out by doctor - code in computer system - sent back to CBS Medical Director - if ok, code will be removed - donor informed can donate for 1 year - new criteria includes Apheresis donors - media campaign will kick off in January Page 3 of 6
CLC members were asked for feedback on three upper age limit letters that will be sent to donors. The letters will be sent out on January 4 th, 2005. 1. Cell #1 Age 68-69 Feedback Letters are too wordy and too complicated. Letter should be shorter, less detail, more simple and more graphic Keep the letter positive Use bigger font Reword section In five years there will be 8,000 additional donations. Suggestion was made to have the Nurse give an information sheet to donors close to that age group. 2. Cell#2 Age 70 Feedback Change from We are hoping that by removing to something more positive, i.e. now the restriction has been removed, you will be able to renew your commitment to the blood services. Shorter, more to the point Instead of over the next five years change to by the fifth year Bolded area should be more clear 71 st birthday. Print the criteria at the back of the letter. Letter comes from the CEO which is very authoritative. Suggested a personal touch be used, i.e. countersigned by a local person (Regional Director) Suggested a follow-up call to see if the letter had been received. 3. Cell#3 Age 71-75 Feedback 1 st paragraph - Now you can continue.. Put criteria in the letter and not as an attachment. Don t say what it used to be like, just what it is now. Must have donated blood before age 61 is almost insignificant because they would have. This should not be in the letter. Chad asked that the final letters be emailed to the CLC group. 5.4 CLC Evaluation An external review is being done by Fair Surveys which is to be completed by Spring 2005. A decision based report is to be prepared which will be presented to the CBS Executive. The Preliminary report will be ready in February 2005. - The first round of interviews have been completed. - The document review has been completed. - CEO has received international recognition for our NLC/CLC. - There are now seven s in Canada. - It was recommended that everyone take the time to do the survey when it comes out. 1. Will we have a more ethnic driven committee? Yes Page 4 of 6
2. Could CLC members receive an electronic copy of handouts and other information which can be shared with the public? Yes. A copy of all attachments from the meeting will be sent to CLC members as well as media releases. 5.5 Committee Membership and Volunteer Program There is a need to increase the membership of our CLC Committee. Currently we have nine members, some are extremely committed and others are not able to come as often. There is a need for diversity on the committee. How do we impress on people their role and their commitment to that role? How do we make the committee more effective for CLC members? What about CLC membership? 1. If we had representation from the Sikh or Chinese community on the committee, we would hear of some of their social concerns. Someone from the black community should sit on the committee as well. One of the elders from the Sikh community will be asked to join the CLC. 2. If there is ethnic representation on the committee, they can see the inner workings of CBS more closely and could help recruit nurses and donors. 3. Go through the CBS satellites for volunteers or donors. 4. What about other organizations to represent on this committee? - Businesses (corporate involvement) - Chamber of Commerce - Olympic Organizing Committee - Steel Workers Union - Heath care organizations Cancer, Heart, etc. - Transfusion practitioner, i.e. Nurse - PBCO representative - Vancouver Island representative - Interior representative - Have a term of three years - Suggestion was made to backfill if someone is unable to attend a meeting - Aboriginal representative (Thompson/Okanagan Region) Patti stated this feedback was excellent and will inform everyone when we get new members. She would also like to receive feedback on how BC & Yukon can collect more blood as we are still importing blood. - When we bring new people on to the committee (as we are recruiting a group of people), they should be brought in for orientation, and then we can impart to them the sense of commitment. It would make the newcomers feel welcome, give a sense of what the committee is all about and they will then blend in better. - Have a buddy system - Make welcome phone calls - Some people may feel intimated by the committee - When the CLC was first formed, at the first few meetings, there was heavy CLC information and it was baffling at first. We need to begin to engage the community, schools and universities. Patti is committed to making sure we are self sufficient in this province in the next five years. We need to get the message out about appointments, etc. CLC members are a Page 5 of 6
tremendous resource to BC & Yukon, to Lorna Tessier and to Canadian Blood Services. Volunteer Program Janet Roocroft presented the new material for the Volunteer Program. - Volunteer starter kit - Refrigerator magnets - Posters - Recruitment pamphlet - Sample of volunteer newsletter - A toolkit is being developed There are a lot of positive things happening with the Volunteer Program. BC & Yukon is leading with their Volunteer Program to similar sized organizations across the country. 1. Sometimes we ask for too much time from youth for volunteering. These often become committed donors and bring their families. We do try to accommodate those that don t have the time to do much volunteering. 2. The comment was made that some of the clinics don t have cards and pins on the clinic. Janet Roocroft will follow up. 6.0 FUTURE TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION 1. Volunteer Program 2. Life Link 3. Automated Blood Collection Devices 4. How to encourage donors to make an appointment 5. Results of BC Pilot on new Donor Comment Card 7.0 NEXT MEETING DATE The date of the next meeting will be Thursday, April 28, 2005 at 3:00 6:00 p.m. 8.0 ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 6:05 p.m. Page 6 of 6