2003-12-05|Donor Information Sharing between Canadian Blood Services and Héma-Québec
To whom it may concern
To the Minister of Health
I started donating blood in Ontario back in the early 1980's, but I switched to Quebec when I moved there. My Red Cross card was replaced by a Héma-Québec card a couple of years ago when the blood collection service was transferred from Red Cross to the Canadian Blood Services and Héma-Québec.
I am proud of reaching 23 donations this year, and I set a goal of achieving 100 donations in my lifetime. I read a notice that the Canadian Blood Services was looking for blood donation this week, so I gave a telephone call to the Canadian Blood Services headquarters to ask if my blood donor information at Héma-Québec would be available at a Canadian Blood Services clinic in Ottawa. I was assured that although it is not automatic, the donor data (name, address, phone number, blood type, the number of donations made, etc.) are accessible between the 2 blood agencies since the Héma-Québec card bears a compatible number.
When I visited the Canadian Blood Services clinic in Ottawa (85, Plymouth Street) today (2003-12-05), I was given a completely different story. The nurse could not find me in the Canadian Blood Services database because my last blood donation in Ottawa was more than 2 years ago. She demonstrated to me that she has no way of accessing the Héma-Québec database, even with the information system upgrade which is planned next week.
I was so disappointed that I declined to make a blood donation, and I left the clinic in disbelief. It was not only a 1-hour waste of my valuable time, but also a loss for somebody in need of blood.
I understand that the Canadian Blood Services and Héma-Québec are under completely separate administration. Technically, however, there should be no problem sharing blood donor information between any standard SQL relational database systems.
I believe that such incompatibility of blood donor information among the provinces contravenes the portability provisions of the Canada Health Act, and also the interprovincial mobility rights in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. I would like to request that the blood donor information be shared between the 2 blood agencies in Canada so that I could make blood donations anywhere in Canada with pride and dignity.
