Dumping blood

Without a blood donation clinic to serve the city, the region’s hospital is forced to dispose of about six litres of blood each week from patients seeking treatment for a common genetic disorder.

Hemochromatosis is a common genetic disorder and causes a person’s body to absorb and retain too much dietary iron. The condition can lead to iron overload in a person’s organs, joints and tissues. The disorder can be fatal if it is not treated by regularly drawing blood – a procedure called a phlebotomy.

Thunder Bay has a Canadian Blood Services plasma donation centre, however, there is no way for a resident to donate blood. Bob Rogers, executive director for the Canadian Hemochromatosis Society, said he’s surprised Thunder Bay doesn’t have access to a mobile blood-donation unit.

In most centres in Canada, patients who undergo a phlebotomy have the option to donate their blood to Canada Blood Services. Without that service in Thunder Bay, local patients do not have that option.

"I have never heard of an exclusive plasma clinic before," Rogers said. "So the Canadian Blood Services, in Thunder Bay of all places, which is a large population in Northern Ontario, doesn’t have a blood donor service or even a mobile? That seems so strange."

Rogers said across the country, the Hemochromatosis Society has a partnership with Canadian Blood Services to allow people with the disorder to donate blood at available clinics.

Canadian Blood Services in Thunder Bay is the country’s only exclusive plasma clinic. Canadian Blood Services did have a mobile that came in from Winnipeg at one time, but Michael Hyduk, a spokesman for Canadian Blood Services, said they discontinued it because of its high costs.

"It became very costly to conduct those mobiles," Hyduk said. "It became cost prohibitive to conduct those mobiles so we decided, because Canada does have a need for plasma that Thunder Bay would be established as Canada’s only stand alone plasma collection site."

An employee with the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre said the blood from a patient is discarded because the hospital doesn’t have a way to process it. The hospital official added that they take about half a litre of blood from each patient.

If Canadian Blood Services had a blood donation clinic in the area, the hospital official said some patients could even donate blood as treatment instead of going to the hospital.

On the Canadian Blood Services website, the organization states that every minute of every day someone in Canada requires blood. Most transfusions are conducted under emergency or trauma situations.

Paul Kanary, 45, never heard of hemochromatosis until he was diagnosed with it three years ago. Kanary owns a small business in Pearl, Ont., and travels about 40 minutes every four months to the Thunder Bay Regional Hospital for regular phlebotomy.

"Most people don’t find out about hemochromatosis until it’s too late," Kanary said. "Doctors don’t check iron levels."

Kanary found out he had the disorder after doctors diagnosed his younger brother. He said he was relieved find out about the disorder since he didn’t experience any symptoms.

"Anytime that I can find out that there is something wrong with me and I can do something about I’m grateful," he said.

A person with hemochromatosis maintains their iron levels through regular phlebotomies. However, the Ambulatory Care unit at the hospital doesn’t keep the blood collected.

Kanary said he didn’t feel great knowing his blood was disposed of.

"I use to like to go and give blood," he said. "I haven’t done it in a long time, but that is something I would like to start doing again. Now that my iron is back down I can start doing it again."