Creation of the Association of Blood Donation Volunteers – Héma-Québec – Bayer
Chair in Transfusion Medicine at Université de Montréal
Montréal, November 1st, 2005 – Today Université de Montréal inaugurates the Association of Blood Donation Volunteers – Héma-Québec – Bayer Chair in Transfusion Medicine, a Chair that is destined to play a leading role in the development of research into, training on, and the application of transfusion medicine in Québec.
Two foundations have come together to create this Chair, which will benefit from an investment of $2 million. The Héma-Québec Foundation, in partnership with the Association des bénévoles du don de sang and Bayer, has committed to providing $1.5 million, while the CHUM Foundation will contribute $500,000.
“The implementation of this project is a breakthrough of the highest benefit for society. Deeper knowledge of transfusion medicine will ensure better use of blood products, which will allow users to plan their needs better, and likely to reduce them. This improved planning will also help Héma-Québec accomplish its mission. Improvements in training and the advancement of knowledge in the field will generate economic spin-offs as well as improving the quality of care,” said Dr. Francine Décary, President and CEO of Héma-Québec.
“The CHUM Foundation is proud to be involved in the creation of this Chair and to invest half a million dollars in the project, because we know that it will contribute directly to the advancement of health knowledge and, more particularly, to research into concrete solutions in transfusion medicine,” said Mr. Léon Courville, Chairman of the Board of the CHUM Foundation. “This is the thirteenth Chair supported by the CHUM Foundation, a fact that clearly demonstrates our commitment and our support for the development of the health-care system in Québec and even beyond our borders.”
The Rector of Université de Montréal, Mr. Luc Vinet, declared that “Partnerships such as the one that has led to the creation of this new Chair help push back the unexplored frontiers of knowledge more quickly and thus are an excellent means of advancing the knowledge economy.”
Optimizing the use of blood products
The Association of Blood Donation Volunteers – Héma-Québec – Bayer Chair in Transfusion Medicine is an innovative project designed to advance knowledge and to improve the training of physicians in the use of blood products. Blood products are increasingly used in medicine and surgery for the treatment of major pathologies such as those encountered during transplants, in cardiac surgery, in hemato-oncology and in emergency rooms. Although physicians acquire knowledge in these fields during their studies, little teaching time is devoted to the optimum use of blood products in Québec universities. Training a new generation of physicians in using blood products in the most effective way possible in scientific, clinical and economic terms is therefore paramount.
The Université de Montréal Hospital Centre (CHUM) will be home to the Chair in Transfusion Medicine. “Inspiring, mobilizing projects that develop the application of health care and services, teaching, research itself, and the assessment of health-care technologies and treatment approaches — these are the stock-in-trade of the CHUM Research Centre,” said Me Patrick A. Molinari, Chairman of the Board of the CHUM. “It goes without saying that the work of the Chair will fit perfectly alongside these great forward-looking projects. We look forward to the results with the greatest interest and barely contained impatience.”
“The Chair’s prime objective is to develop a research program into the optimal clinical use of blood products and, where applicable, substitutes for them,” declared the Chair’s incumbent, Dr. Jean-François Hardy.
“Furthermore, the Chair’s work will help strengthen the teaching program in transfusion medicine, thereby making full use of the Université de Montréal Faculty of Medicine’s expertise in this still little-developed area of health-care sciences,” stressed Dr. Denis Roy, Director of the Medicine Department of the Faculty.
About Université de Montréal
Founded in 1878, Université de Montréal today boasts 13 faculties and, with its two affiliated schools, HEC Montréal and École Polytechnique, forms the leading centre of university teaching and research in Québec, the second largest in Canada and one of the most important in North America. It has a staff of 2,300 professors and researchers and an enrolment of close to 55,000 students, offers over 550 programs at all levels of study, and awards some 3,000 master’s and doctoral degrees each year.
The mission of the Université de Montréal Development Fund is to receive donations from the private sector in support of the university’s priority teaching and research activities.
About Héma-Québec
Héma-Québec was created in September 1998. Its mission is to efficiently provide adequate quantities of safe, optimal blood components, substitutes, human tissues and cord blood to meet the needs of all Quebecers; provide and develop expertise along with specialized and innovative services and products in the fields of transfusion medicine and human tissue transplantation.
The mission of the Héma-Québec Foundation is to provide financial support for the creation and development of innovative projects that will help to keep Héma-Québec at the forefront of services and knowledge in the supply of blood, stem cells (bone marrow and umbilical cord blood) and human tissues.
About the Association of Blood Donation Volunteers
The Association of Blood Donation Volunteers has a mission to promote blood donation, to share the underlying principles and values of safe blood transfusion (volunteer, anonymous, unpaid blood donation), to support donor recruitment, in conjunction with Héma-Québec, to provide a forum to address topics of interest to volunteers and to act as liaison between the regions and Héma-Québec.
About Bayer
Bayer HealthCare Biological Products Division together with its international affiliates, is a major global player in its field. With a dedicated team of specialists in Canada, the Division's chief objective is to develop safe and effective high-quality products that improve and prolong the lives of Canadians.
About the Université de Montréal Hospital Centre
The Université de Montréal Hospital Centre (CHUM) provides specialized and ultra-specialized services to patients in the region and beyond. It also provides general and specialized care and hospital services in its more immediate service area. All these services contribute to teaching, research and the evaluation of technologies and approaches to medical intervention, which are provided in the context of an integrated network. The CHUM also contributes to promoting health along with front-line services. The CHUM is made up of Hôtel-Dieu, Hôpital Notre-Dame and Hôpital Saint-Luc, and its approximately 10,000 employees, 1,000 physicians, 355 researchers and 800 volunteers provide care to over half a million patients each year.
The mission of the CHUM Foundation is to support one of Canada’s largest university hospital centres in its pursuit of excellence by means of funding campaigns and the provision of grants. Priorities for action are determined in partnership with the CHUM.
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