Mindy Goldman, MD, FRCP(C)

• Donor Criteria
• Donor Screening
• Bacterial Contamination of Blood Products
• Platelet and Leukocyte Alloantibodies

Volunteer donors are the backbone of our blood system. Donors are subjected to health screening and assessment at each donation. Methods used to screen donors will impact on the donation experience. Donor criteria influence donor and recipient safety, as well as affecting the adequacy of the blood supply. Ideally, donor screening should be evidence-based. We are interested in evaluating optimal methods of administration of the donor health assessment questionnaire. In collaboration with our Information Technology group, we have introduced novel methods of donor screening involving a computer-assisted self-administered donor questionnaire. We have also evaluated changes in donor criteria, such as increasing the permissible upper age limit for donation and decreasing the deferral period for tattoos and piercing and the effect of these criteria on donor and recipient safety as well as their impact on the adequacy of the blood supply.

Bacterial contamination of blood components was one of the earliest recognized complications of blood transfusion. With Dr. Sandra Ramirez-Arcos, we have been working to optimize donor skin disinfection methods and protocols for performing sterility testing on donor platelets. We are evaluating a rapid test method that might permit extended storage of platelets beyond their current 5-day shelf life.

Platelet alloantibodies are responsible for neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia and platelet refractoriness. Our Winnipeg Platelet Immunology Laboratory uses a variety of methods to evaluate cases of neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia and platelet refractoriness from all over Canada. Recently, a case of refractoriness to platelet transfusion was found to be due to a rare antibody found predominantly in individuals of Chinese origin. This has motivated us to try and increase the ethnic diversity of individuals on our platelet registry. In addition, our Winnipeg Platelet Immunology Laboratory is developing methods to investigate anti-neutrophil antibodies that may be involved in TRALI reactions.

Selected Publications:

Goldman M, Fournier, E, Cameron-Choi K, Steed T. Effect of changing the age criteria for blood donors. Vox Sanguinis 2007;92:368-72.

Goldman M, Ram SS, Yi QL, Mazerall J, O'Brien SF. The donor health assessment questionnaire: potential for format change and computer-assisted self-interviews to improve donor attention. Transfusion 2007;47:1595-600.

Pavenski K, Webert KE, Goldman M. Consequences of transfusion of platelet antibody: a case report and literature review. Transfusion 2008;48:1981-9.

Traore AN, Delage G, McCombie N, Robillard P, Heddle NM, Hyson C, Goldman M. Clinical and laboratory practices in investigation of suspected transfusion-transmitted bacterial infection: a survey of Canadian hospitals. Vox Sanguinis 2009;96:157-9.

Goldman M, Xi G, Yi Q-L, Fan W, O'Brien SF. Reassessment of deferrals for tattooing and piercing. Transfusion 2009;49:648-54.

Eder A, Goldman M, Rossmann S, Waxman, Bianco C. Selection Criteria to Protect the Blood Donor in North America and Europe: Past (Dogma), Present (Evidence), and Future (Hemovigilance). Transfusion Medicine Reviews 2009;23(3):205-20.