Canadian Blood Services needs more Black donors: expert – CTV
Jan. 11, 2023
At any given point across the country, hundreds of people are in need of a stem cell transplant that can be used to replace a person’s bone marrow or boost cancer patients’ immune systems while undergoing chemotherapy.
People of the same ethnic ancestry are more likely to find a stem cell match, the Canadian Blood Services (CBS) website reads.
If there are fewer people of a specific background in the donation pool, those who need stem cell transplants are less likely to find a match. Diversifying the blood registry has been a goal of the organization over the last several years, but still, Black people make up less than 2 per cent of the Canadian Blood Services stem cell donor registry, a spokesperson told CTVNews.ca in an email on Wednesday.
One expert says previous racist policies are to blame.
Read more: https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/canadian-blood-services-needs-more-black-donors-expert-1.6226076
