Canadian Standards Association (CSA)

   
The Canadian Standards Association is a not-for-profit membership-based association serving business, industry, government and consumers in Canada and the global marketplace.

 
The Standards Council of Canada (SCC) has responsibility for co-ordination of the National Standards System (NSS) in Canada and has accredited CSA as one of four nationally accredited standards development organizations (SDO).

 
The standard CAN/CSA-Z902-10 Blood and Blood Components provides requirements for facilities that collect, process, store, and use human blood and blood components for transfusion. It addresses issues of safety and efficacy for recipients, and safety for facility personnel and others who are exposed to or potentially affected by blood and blood components.

 
For more information or to purchase the latest version of the standards please visit CAN/CSA Z902-10.

 
Canadian Society for Transfusion Medicine (CSTM)

The Canadian Society for Transfusion Medicine is a multidisciplinary society which promotes and supports the best practice in Transfusion Medicine in Canada through education, communication and partnerships.

 
The CSTM continues to serve the needs of the hospital-based Transfusion Services by providing standards of practice that strive for safer transfusion practices while being compliant with the CSA Standards for Blood and Blood Components Z902-04. The CSTM standards have been reorganized in twelve Quality Systems Essentials (QSEs) to meet new requirements such as ISO 15189.

CSTM standards for Hospital Transfusion Services ver 2 Sept 2007 is available to all members of CSTM or for purchase to non-CSTM members.

 
For more information or to order a copy of the current standards please visit CSTM Standards for Transfusion Services.

Ontario Laboratory Accreditation (OLA)

  
The Ontario Laboratory Accreditation program is a division of the Quality Management Program for Laboratory Services in Ontario (QMP-LS). QMP-LS is operated by the Ontario Medical Association (OMA), serving as an agent of the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOH-LTC) to carry out a quality management program for licensed medical laboratories in Ontario.

 
QMP–LS identifies, designs and delivers external quality assessment (EQA), accreditation and education services that meet its regulatory mandate, relevant international standards and client and stakeholder requirements. QMP–LS has been issuing accreditation certificates to Ontario Laboratories since 2003.

 
The principal function of accreditation is to ensure that laboratories deliver high-quality, efficient laboratory services. Accreditation requirements define quality expectations, set the desired standards of best practice, and serve as the benchmark against which laboratory quality and competency are assessed. To maintain certificates of accreditation, laboratories must submit to ongoing surveillance of proficiency testing and conduct an annual self-assessment on all activities conducted in conjunction with the scope of testing in each discipline subject to accreditation.  In addition, periodically, hospital laboratories undergo on site assessments through a peer assessment program managed by OLA.

 
For more information please visit OLA Program Information.