Raising awareness to save lives
More donors to meet growing demand for recipients
Blood donor and participant in the First Nations HLA study
Their genetic profiles, too, are unique on the planet! Yet this uniqueness poses a particular challenge, especially given their marked under-representation in the Quebec stem cell donor registry… as in all registries worldwide! First Nations represented 2.3% of the Quebec population in 2016, with only 1.3% of First Nations individuals registered in the stem cell registry and 0.1% registered in the public cord blood bank.
One of the aspects of Héma-Québec’s mission is to meet the needs of the Quebec population in terms of stem cells for transplantation. Maintaining and developing registries of potential donors is of paramount importance, as the number of recipients requiring stem cell transplants continues to grow. These registries face a major challenge: representing the diversity of the population. When it comes to stem cell transplants, both donor and recipient must have a similar genetic background.
Héma-Québec has set up a population study among First Nations in order to better understand their genetic profiles, but also to recruit candidates to join the registry and add to the list of potential donors. In this way, patients of different origins awaiting transplants can hope for a chance of recovery. Funding for the First Nations community awareness study was distributed as follows: the Foundation provided 20% ($54,000) of the total study budget ($269,000), and Héma-Québec funded the remainder.
This program is part of Héma-Québec’s strategic plan to meet the essential needs of immunodeficient people in Quebec. These people must receive medications derived from plasma processing once a month or more.
Héma-Québec offers cutting-edge training to blood bank technicians around the world, enabling them to improve their problem-solving techniques for erythrocyte immunology problems encountered in their laboratories.
The Héma-Québec Foundation is proud to participate in the financing of the RhD fetal project, which will enable future Quebec mothers to know the blood type of their fetus. Every year in Quebec, some 12,000 pregnant women have an RhD-negative blood group.
Quebec’s First Nations have much more than their own culture and history. Their genetic profiles, too, are unique on the planet! This uniqueness poses a particular challenge, especially given their marked under-representation in Quebec’s stem cell donor registry…
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Héma-Québec Foundation
4045 Côte-Vertu Blvd.
Montréal (Québec) H4R 2W7
Telephone: 514 832-5000 # 5753
fondation@hema-quebec.qc.ca
