Story Posted: 2024-07-16
Hospital Highlights 2023-24: Laboratory Medicine
From the St. Paul’s Hospital & SPH Foundation 2023-24 Annual Review.
St. Paul’s Hospital Laboratory provides services in the departments of Anatomical Pathology, Hematology, Clinical Biochemistry, Transfusion Medicine, Immunodiagnostics, and Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics. The Laboratory is also a transportation hub for the testing and referral of specimens both from within Saskatoon and from rural centers and communities.
In the past year, the Marc Baltzan Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics Laboratory at St. Paul’s Hospital has continued to make noteworthy contributions to the field of organ transplantation. We extend our sincere gratitude to Canadian Blood Services for acknowledging our Lab’s significant role in the “1000 Kidney Paired Donation” program. Our commitment to public awareness was evident as we actively participated in the “Walk and Talk” event organized by the Move For Life Foundation, raising an impressive $7,145 to support organ donation education.
Our Lab is pleased to have extended our services to the Saskatchewan Transplant Program and the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency. The Saskatchewan Transplant Program set a new record, with 47 patients receiving transplants this past year; the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency also facilitated 30 stem cell transplants during that time. We are proud to announce the successful completion of an American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics inspection on May 16th, achieving compliance with all required standards and earning a renewed two-year term of full accreditation. This accomplishment reaffirms our commitment to maintaining the highest levels of professionalism and expertise in our field. Our presence at the annual international American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics conference in San Antonio, Texas was marked by three talks and two presentations, underscoring our laboratory’s reputation on a global scale.
These achievements reflect our unwavering dedication to advancing health care and saving lives through cutting-edge research and clinical excellence.
Donor Support Brings Innovation
Our phenomenally generous donor community has enabled us to provide better patient care with Cellavision, the digital imaging component of Complete Blood Count (CBC) testing. CBC is one of the most common tests requested by physicians. The high-volume Hematology lab at SPH may analyze upward of 1000 CBC tests each day, receiving samples from rural areas as well as from Saskatoon. These tests, depending on results, can lead patients to have further samples sent to the Hematology Lab at SPH. Bringing this state-of-the-art technology to the Lab will significantly reduce turnaround times, allowing test results that previously required 1-4 days for completion to now be finished within hours and quickly communicated to patients’ physicians. This means that patients will have their results sooner, whether they live in the city or in a rural setting, saving invaluable time and providing far-reaching positive impacts on health outcomes for those in our province.